I decided this morning that I had more than enough cherries to experiment a little bit. I searched online for recipes for cherry syrup to can and really didn't find any that were great. Some called for more cherries, less sugar, longer cooking times, no water etc. I wanted to stay within the canning guidelines so took ideas from them all and made sure I used lemon juice to make it acidic.
I also did not make a large amount. 4 half pints is what I ended up with. That should last for a very long time. Other than cherry soda or cherry lemonade I will be on a mission for recipes that use cherry syrup. It will be a huge plus if there is chocolate in the recipe.
At this point too I am quite sick of cherries for this year. Tomorrow I will finish up the maraschino cherries and then I will be completely done with them.
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| This is how 20 pounds of cherries got pitted. One by one. |
On top of the syrup I made 10 more pints of cherry pie filling today. I believe 20 pints ought to last for a good year.
Oh yes, cherry syrup. Super easy and very tasty.
Cherry Syrup
3 cups pitted cherries
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups water
Bring all the ingredients to boil in a large saucepan. As it begins to heat and the cherries soften mash the cherries up with a potato masher. After it reaches a full rolling boil reduce heat to medium high and continue boiling for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Carefully drain the syrup from the cherries. For clear cherry syrup use a jelly bag or other cotton to strain out all the little bits.
(I couldn't throw away the mashed cherries. I ended up with 2 half pints of mashed cherries that I put just a bit of syrup into. I thought it would be delicious on ice cream.)
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| It doesn't look pretty but sure is tasty. |
As soon as your syrup is strained fill your jars. Leave 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe any hot syrup off the rims. Put your hot lids and rings on. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.
For more information on how to can go to the National Center of Home Food Preservation.
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