It’s cherry season! I’m not sure about you, but cherries are my favourite summer fruit. Okay, raspberries too. And blackberries. But cherries definitely top the list!

While I usually eat cherries straight from the bag, *sometimes* people have a surplus and need ways to use them up – like my coworker. She has a cherry tree in her backyard and a few weeks ago it produced pounds and pounds of cherries. Yes, pounds and pounds. While this sounds like a dream to me, the tree produced so many at once that she didn’t know what to do with them!

Here’s where this jam comes in. She was looking for a low-sugar jam recipe without pectin, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. While there still is some sugar in this recipe, that’s just inevitable considering the fact that it’s, well, jam (many cherry jam recipes call for anywhere from 2-4 cups of sugar). If your cherries are already quite sweet, feel free to adjust the sugar quantity. As for the pectin, some people don’t like using pectin in their jam recipes. Although pectin is a natural fibre found in most plants, it requires large amounts of sugar for it to work properly; hence why so many jam recipes call for large sugar quantities. Also, sometimes people just don’t have it in their pantry. This recipe accommodates for those types of people. That being said, because this recipe doesn’t contain pectin, it might not be as thick as the jam you’re used to. It’s still delicious nonetheless.

Low Sugar Cherry Jam Recipe (Pectin-Free)

Makes 1.5 cups.

Ingredients:

• 2 x 1 lb bags of cherries, pitted and chopped
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ cup – 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your cherries are)
• ½ cup water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, place chopped and pitted cherries. Add ½ cup water, lemon juice, and sugar. Cook over medium-high until mixture is thick and large bubbles form, which is about 6-8 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Add to the cherry mix. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
3. Let cool. Once cooled, top onto fresh sourdough with warm butter or mix into overnight oats. Store in jars. Enjoy!

Do you have another low-sugar cherry jam recipe? Or other favourite cherry recipes? If so, share them! We’re always looking for more ideas.