No Sugar Cherry Jam

No Sugar Cherry Jam

No Sugar Cherry Jam

If you haven’t noticed, the grocery stores are suddenly flush with beautiful cherries from around the Middle East. We try to eat locally and regionally as much as possible, so the arrival of cherries here is pure joy. To make the most of this short but sweet season we’ve created a no-sugar cherry jam perfect for spreading on your toast. We kept things refined sugar free and opted for honey as the sweetener in this jam, but maple syrup would also work great. As there is no refined sugar in the recipe, the jam will not thicken up too much but will stay the consistency of a loose compote/preserve. Sweet, plump and so juicy!

prep time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 40 minutes

  • 550-600 grams cherries ~ stems removed, pitted & roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp pure honey (or maple syrup), if you prefer a sweeter jam you may add an extra tablespoon
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Place the chopped cherries in a saucepan over medium heat. Let cook for 8-10 minutes while using a large spoon to mash the cherries so that they break down. Remove from the heat and add in the honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract & salt, mix. Return the saucepan to the stove and lower the heat to medium-low. Let the cherries cook for about 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Use a tablespoon to skim off and discard any foam that forms on the surface.

Remove the cherries from the heat and strain any excess water that may have been expelled during the cooking process (we removed about 1 cup of excess water). Return the saucepan to the heat and let the jam come together for an additional 5 minutes. The cherries should be tender and syrupy, with a loose preserve-like consistency. Transfer to a sterilized jar and store in the fridge.

To serve

  • For the Love of Bread organic sourdough batard, sliced
  • salted butter
  • cherry jam

Slather on generously and enjoy!