In late spring, the cherries usually ripen all at once, so not all of them can be eaten. If you want to enjoy cherries later in the year, the best thing to do is grab a kettle and can a few jars of cherries.
How to preserve and preserve cherries?
Canning cherries is achieved by washing, pitting and filling the fruit into sterilized jars, adding sugar syrup, sealing the jars and then boiling them in a kettle or oven. This means the cherries will last for several months and can be used in a variety of ways.
Prepare cherries properly
First, sterilize mason jars, lids and rubber bands in boiling water or at 100 degrees in the oven. While the jars are draining on a clean tea towel, prepare the cherries.
- Wash the cherries under cold running water.
- Pit the cherries with a cherry stoner and remove the remaining stems. Cherries that already have rotten spots or cracks are sorted out.
- It's best to put the cherries directly into the washed glasses. This way no juice is lost.
- Fill the glasses to just (about 2 cm) below the rim.
- Depending on your taste, you can add spices such as a vanilla pod, a cinnamon stick or some star anise.
- Now make the sugar syrup.
- To do this, take about 400 - 500 g of sugar per liter and boil the whole thing.
- Pour the hot sugar solution over the cherries so that all the fruit is covered.
- Now the jars are closed with screw lids or glass lids and a rubber ring and cooking clip.
Waking cherries
Once the jars are filled, you can cook them either in the automatic canner or oven.
Wake-up kettle
Place the jars in the canner, but leave some space between the jars. If they touch each other, the heat could cause them to burst. Fill with water until the jars are two-thirds submerged. Close the kettle and cook the cherries at 90 degrees for half an hour. Allow the glasses to cool slightly in the kettle, then remove them and let them cool completely under a tea towel. When preserved in this way, the cherries can be kept for several months.
In the oven
Canning in the oven is just as easy as in the automatic canning machine. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Place the glasses in the drip pan and fill with about 2 cm of water. Place the drip pan with the glasses in the oven and turn the heat down to 100 degrees. Boil the cherries for half an hour. Here too, let the glasses cool down in the oven for a while and then cover them with a tea towel when they have completely cooled down on the worktop.
Use preserved cherries
Use your cherries as a cake topping, as a compote or use them to make cherry jelly for fresh waffles. The cherries also taste delicious in yogurt. Also try them as a side dish with a game dish.
