Cornelian Cherry Jam
I can certainly declare this cornelian cherry jam the breakthrough of the year for me. I knew about it, but one small detail was stopping me - the process of separating the seeds and obtaining the paste. I was cursing throughout the whole process. While it was cooking, I was still skeptical - that this jam was too runny ... But, when it cooled in jars and I tried it, it became the best jam ever tasted - aromatic, dense, thick, sour, nice colored etc. The children immediately called it a favorite and within the last week, we'd already consumed a whole jar.
I didn't imagine that the cornelian cherry jam would get so thick. I'm thinking next time I will separate the seeds as in this No-Cook Cornelian Jam Recipe and I will boil the jam like any other. I did relatively well with the big hole metal colander and you should know it will be almost impossible to work with a finer sieve - there will be cherries all over your walls :)) But it's still worth it, I guarantee!
This is what the cornelian cherries I bought look like. I sorted them, removed the stems and the leaves, washed and drained well.
I placed 2kg in a saucepan and poured over enough water to cover them.
Place over heat and, when it comes to the boil, turn the heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, find a good sieve, if you haven't bought one before, like me. I went to the market to search for a sieve with big holes and "rough", not fine.
If you don't have the right sieve, it's better to separate the seeds using the glass as in the Recipe for No Cook Cornelian Cherry Jam. You'll get a more concentrated puree, but at least you won't bother to sift the paste through the sieve.
When the cornelian cherries are cooked, scoop 2-3 ladles and place in the sieve. With a spoon, start to shake - rub them against the sieve so that you obtain the puree.
Now you need patience and perseverance, but just think about how wonderful the jam will be :)
I got this far. I felt sorry there was so much left, but I couldn't do more.
Next time, I will make the paste with the glass method, as I said above.
This is what I had in the end.
Weigh the paste to see how much sugar you need to add - I had about 1kg of puree.
Pour the cornelian cherry paste into a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the same amount of sugar as the paste - so, for 1kg of paste I put 1kg of sugar. Mix well.
Place the pot over heat. When it comes to the boil, turn the heat to low and leave to simmer for 1 hour, stirring periodically.
This is what the final jam looked like. It was rather runny and I was really upset that it didn't thicken.
Pour the jam into clean, dry jars, seal tightly and allow to cool completely.
Notice how firm the jam is in the spoon, and, what's more, it's super good ...
With this recipe, I ended the season in the countryside. I had a visitor in the picture - my parents' kitten too wanted cornelian cherries jam with biscuits :)
Enjoy!
