Anyone can cherries?

[Ericasl]

I have a huge cherry tree, bing I think. What can I do with all of them we can only eat so many. How do you can cherries? Anyone have a good recipe?

 

[justusnak]

I have this wonderfull book....Ball Blue Book. Guide to Home canning,Freezing, & dehydrateing.
This is the one I plan to use...once my cherry trees start fruiting( in about 5 yrs

)

2 to 2 1/2 pounds Cherries per Quart
Sugar
water
Pits can be left in, or taken out. If the pits are left in, pick each cherry with a sterile needle, to prevent bursting and shrinking. If canned without the pits, measure AFTER the pits are removed.

Raw Pack - Wash Cherries,drain. Discard fruits that float, it may contain worms!!
Make a light or meduim syrup for sweet cherries, or a heavy syrup for sour cherries; keep syrup HOT.
Ladle 1/2 cup hot syrup into hot jar. Fill with Cherries. Gently shake jar to pack cherries closely without crushing, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Add hot syrup to cover cherries, if needed, leaving 1/2 inch headspce. Remove air bubbles. ( slowly insert butter knife into the jar, and run it around the inside, this removes air bubbles)
Adjust 2 piece caps....Process pints for 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.
If the canned cherries are for bakeing later.....remove pits, use an extra light syrup, or water. Heat cherries in syrup or water until hot throughout. Process as above. ( A sugar syrup will help retain color.

 

[Ericasl]

Thank you so much, I wish you lived closer I would share my cherries with you. We could both can cherries till we drop. I am going to can this weekend. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Nuggetsowner:)]

I have used the Blue Book recipe for Cherries before. They were good!! I wish they were not so expensive around here! My DH loved them and asks when I will can cherries again, but it doesn't look like it will be anytime soon!!

 

[dangerouschicken]

I live on a 34 acre cherry orchard! We have all types here, including Bing. Most of our harvest is destoned (pitted) then frozen in gallon-sized bags. Even better than canned!

We also make cherry jam that is AMAZING! I will give the recipe later when I get it out. It works with any type of cherries, btw.

Another great thing to make is cherry fruit leather. You just need a cherry stoner, a blender, and a dehydrator with a FL tray. It is heavenly

Good luck and have fun! I have done GALLONS this week.

 

[brahma-momma]

my cherrie tree was loaded this year i canned whole pitted cherries using the ball blue book recipe and made jam and preserves and froze some to use in smoothies .i like freezing them without juice.

 

[woodward farms]

dehydrateing.

is the way to go pitt them and dry them. chcek out the price of dried fruit at the store$$$$$

you can use a store bought dehydrator, or i read of doing it in a oven on low low setting...

nice part i find is that no exrta sugar is needed in drying

a dried cherry on top of some vanilla ice cream in the middle of winter is o so good....

 

[dangerouschicken]

Kruczek Family Farm's Cherry Jam

Makes 6 pints!

8 cups cherries, destoned and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp ground cloves
3 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
8 cups sugar
2 boxes of pectin

Cook all ingredients, except sugar, at a boil that cannot be stirred down. Immediately add the sugar. Bring mixture back to a boil and continue boiling for 2 minutes. Skim mixture. Add to sterilized jars and adjust lids and caps. Process 10 minutes in a waterbath canner.

 

[Redfeathers]

Wow I'm so jealous! I have to pay a small fortune for cherries at the store. There are no cherry orchards around my place, it's all Christmas tree farms.

 

[dangerouschicken]

A lot of people pay a small fortune for a Christmas tree.

It is the way of our people.

BTW, we rent this place, so they are not our cherries. BUT the owner is lax so we have some leeway with picking. I think we have picked about $600 worth of cherries so far. They are about $4 a pound retail.