Whole Cherries (in Syrup)Storage: 12 months+
Yield: 18 cups
Enjoy delicious sweet cherries all year long! Follow this recipe for sour cherries too! You can bottle them whole (or halved), pitted (or not) and in water, apple juice, white grape juice or a light to medium syrup like my family enjoys.
Ingredients:
15 cups ripe sweet cherries (whole)
3 1/2 cups white sugar
7 cups water
Prepare jars by covering in water and boiling for 10 minutes.
Prepare cherries.
Wash cherries well, removing stems and stones (or leave stones in if you like). Place into a bowl ready to add to the hot jars. If doing double (or more) amounts of cherries, squeeze half a lemon into the bowl and cover cherries with water to prevent browning.
Heat syrup to a boil.
Combine sugar and water in a large pan, heating over medium and whisking occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil then turn the heat off and ladle hot syrup into jars until jars are 1/4 full of syrup.
Prepare lids.
While you are prepping the cherries, place the lids into a pot of previously boiling water. Do not simmer or boil, just let the lids heat through in the few minutes while you make the syrup and then fill the jars, removing the lids from the hot water when you are ready to place them onto the jars to seal.
Ladle cherries into hot jars.
Add cherries into jars to 1/2 inch (1cm) headspace, ladling hot syrup into jars as required. Remove bubbles and add extra syrup if needed. Wipe rims and seal.
Boiling water bath processing.
Process in hot water bath canner for 25 minutes. It is the same processing time for pint, half pint and quart-sized jars. Start your timer when the water returns to a full boil. Then when the time is off, turn heat off and rest jars in water for 5 minutes before placing onto a towel-covered bench overnight to cool.
Next day: check for seals.
Check jars have sealed before labelling and storing in a cool, dry and dark place for up to 12 months. Jars should not flex up or down when pressed, if jars have not sealed refrigerate immediately or reprocess. Don't forget to note on your jar labels if the cherries have not had their stones removed.
For more photos of the whole cherries (in syrup) process, visit HERE