Kimberly Stelzer’s Recipe for Canning Sweet Cherries
We really love sweet cherries, so when the harvest comes in, we use a water bath canning process to store them for year-round enjoyment! It’s so simple and quick. I stuff my clean jars with cherries (you can remove the pits if you have time, but often I just leave the pits in). Then I make a syrup, using the ratio David’s mom, Oma, taught me, which is 1 part honey to 4 parts hot water. Hot water melts the honey to make a nice syrup, and I just pour that into the jars to cover the cherries. This ratio works for most fruits, but if you prefer a sweeter syrup, you can use a 1:3 ratio. I put on the Superb lids, and then do a simple water bath canning, bringing the pot to a boil. Use boil times according to recommendations for your elevation. The minimum recommended process time for cherries is 15 minutes. (The longer you leave the jars in the boiling water, the softer the cherries become, so you may want to play with timing to match your own preferences. Our family prefers a very short boil time.) I remove the jars from the boiling water, and set them on a wooden cutting board to cool and seal. Now you have cherries ready for storage in your pantry—with minimal effort and maximum flavor!
