Bing! Cherries in a jar

Ok! So… now that I have my Micro-SD card reader, here is the info on canning Cherries!! You can get most of your canning supplies at any Walmart or Kroger… I just so happened to have obtained my jars from Walmart and my set of Canning Tools from Kroger. If you already have jars leftover from other preserved goodies, just wash the jars in hot water (the top rack of the dishwasher is fine) and buy new lids & metal rings. You always need to use new lids during canning, to ensure a tight seal.




To begin with, I was lucky enough to have picked my own cherries from my grandparents orchard. I pitted each cherry to remove the seed and stem, then I put them in a ziploc bag and sprinkled them with some vitamin C powder (you can also find this in the canning area) which aides with keeping the cherries fresh. Next, I sanitized the jars, lids and metal rings by boiling them in water for about 10 minutes. You can wash the jars in the dishwasher, but wash the lids/metal rings in the sink with some lukewarm water & a little soap, rinsing well before sanitizing in the boiling water bath.




Here are the instructions on canning cherries, per the Ball Blue Book of Preserving (which you can pick up a copy of this book at some supermarkets, most bookstores or online):

2-2 1/2 lbs of cherries per quart
Sugar
Water

To “Raw Pack” cherries (or preserve without cooking): Pit, rinse and drain cherries. Make a light or medium syrup for sweet cherries, or a medium to heavy syrup for tart cherries (I used tart cherries and made a medium syrup, to preserve more of the cherry flavor). Keep the syrup hot & ladle syrup to fill 1/2 of the jars. Fill jars with cherries and gently shake the jars to pack the cherries without crushing them. Leave 1/2 an inch of head space and ladle more hot syrup over the tops of the cherries (if needed), covering them with liquid. Remove air bubbles & adjust the lid and metal ring onto the jar. Using light (fingertip pressure, or using only enough strength to tighten the rings so that you would only need to use your finger tips to open them). Process jars (pints and quarts) in a boiling water canner for 25 minutes. Let sit for 12-24 hours before checking the seal. To check the seal, remove the metal ring and with fingertip pressure, try to remove the lid. If it does not come off, you have a tight seal.

Just in case you weren't aware, removing the jars from the boiling water (and therefore allowing rapid cooling to occur), creates the vacuum seal between the lid and the jar. :0) Physics at work!

Being able to preserve something that was grown in my family's yard for use later (in Chocolate Covered Cherries at Christmas), is completely exhilarating!