Cherry Jam Recipe without Pectin

 Gorgeous red, delicious homemade cherry jam made of fresh cherries needs just 3 ingredients and your jam will be ready in about 30 minutes. No pectin used.

The recipe was originally posted in May 2016, and updated in  June 2018.

What is pectin?

Preserving techniques usually use pectin. Jams, jellies, marmalades, and preserves call for pectin. Pectin is a starch that is naturally occurring in some of the berries, apples, and most fruits. It’s a soluble gelatinous polysaccharide that is present in ripe fruits and is used as a setting agent in jams and jellies.

It is composed of pectic acid and pectinic acid molecules. When you heat the fruit together with sugar it causes thickening, because of the pectin content in it.

Is pectin good?

Pectin is a naturally occurring soluble dietary fibers present in various fruits. It’s a dietary fiber so it passes through us. The many health benefits of pectin include improvement in digestive health, regulation of bowel movements and prevention of heart disease. While natural pectin is good for you when consumed in moderation.

Fresh Cherries or Canned/Frozen Cherries For Cherry Jam Recipe?

Nothing, I mean nothing beats fresh fruits. When you use fresh fruits it shows in your jam. You get luscious, fruity, delicious jam.  As much as I recommend fresh cherries for this cherry jam recipe, you could still get away with canned or frozen cherries too.

Just remember that canned cherries or preserved cherries will have high sugar content that is used to preserve them.  If using frozen cherries, thaw the cherries overnight in the fridge and use them in the morning.

Why Homemade Cherry Jam Is Better Than Store Bought Jam

I won’t deny picking up a bottle of jam from the supermarket is so much more convenient, makes life easy. But homemade jam is better than store brought ones for all these reasons –

Store bought jam is loaded with sugar. Homemade jam is fruitier and definitely less sugar (quantity of sugar depends on the fruit you use). You can make just the amount of jam you need and can them.

Homemade jams are great food gifts for Christmas, thanksgivings. Those cute little gift bottles/cans of jams will make you a star among your friends and family.

You know your homemade jam has all the natural ingredients as opposed to the store bottled  ones which has all these ingredient most of it you can’t even pronounce.

Cherry Jam Ingredients

Simplest cherry jam has just 3 ingredients.

• Fresh cherries
• Sugar
• Lemon juice

How To Make Cherry Jam

Remember those delicious chunky fruity jams our grandmothers made? Our grandmothers probably did not use pectin yet we had the jam consistency just right and delicious!

So we can make jam without pectin for sure, it just need few extra minutes of stirring the hot boiling pot of jam. Cook the vitamins out of the fruits slowly and stirring constantly until you get a thicker consistency jam.

For 2 cups of fresh cherries use 1 cup sugar and 3 tablespoon lemon juice.

Cook pitted cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a deep bottomed pan over medium heat stirring constantly and mashing the fruit as you stir. Continue to stir and cook for 20 – 30 minutes until cherry jam reaches thicker consistency.

Meanwhile keep 2 plates in the freezer to be used for testing jam consistency.

Drop a blob of jam on to the freezer plate and leave it for few minutes. Press the jam with your index finger and if it wrinkles even a bit, jam is set. Remove from heat immediately. Skim and pour into sterilized cans and cover once cooled.

5 from 18 votes

Cherry Jam Recipe without Pectin

Jyothi Rajesh

Gorgeous red, delicious homemade cherry jam made of fresh cherries needs just 3 ingredients and your jam will be ready in about 30 minutes. There is no pectin here!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, jam, Snacks

Servings 1 standard jar

Calories 1112

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1.5 lb fresh cherries pitted, halved
• ▢ 0.7 lbs sugar adjust according to your preference
• ▢ 3 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

 

Prepping work before you start –

• Wash and clean the cherries. Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter. Chop them into half. Keep 2 small plates in the freezer to use for jam test.

Cooking the jam –

• Place the cherries in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat stirring constantly. With a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon mash the cherries. Place a plate in freezer for testing the consistency of jam.

  When cherries turn soft, add sugar, lemon juice and keep mashing and stirring.

   Once sugar begins to boil, add lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
• Keep a sterilized clean and dry bottle ready.

Test jam consistency –

• At this stage take a plate from freezer add few drops of the jam on the plate. Drop a blob of jam on to the freezer plate and leave it for few minutes. Press the jam with your index finger and if it wrinkles even a bit, jam is set. Jam has reached its correct consistency. Remove from flame immediately. Do not overcook it, the jam will turn hard.
  

  If the freezer plate test shows jam set, turn off flame immediately and transfer it into a sterile bottle and cover it tightly.
• Store in a cool dry place. Always use clean dry spoon to scoop out the jam.

Notes

Make sure to have a clean, dry, sterile bottles ready before starting to cook the jam. 

From the quantity mentioned I got about 1.5 standard jar approximately. 

Nutrition

Serving: 0gCalories: 1112kcalCarbohydrates: 286gProtein: 4gFat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgPotassium: 1042mgFiber: 9gSugar: 269gVitamin A: 290IUVitamin C: 40.8mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1.6mg

Did you make this recipe?Follow @CurryTrail and tag #CurryTrail to share your creation!