Monastery Cherry Jam and Jelly

So, over this past weekend, I went on a retreat to a lovely Benedictine Monastery just outside of Madison, WI. If you want to read all about this gorgeous place, click over to my other blog at http://bloggedyblogblog-mindylou113.blogspot.com/. But for this entry, I'm focusing on a canning class they sponsored Thursday night. If you've ever been curious about canning or just think those little mason jars are too adorable for words, read on.

Let me start by saying that if crepes intimidated me, canning my own jam and jelly absolutely petrified me. I was so excited when I saw this class was being offered to visitors on the exact day I was arriving! It was Fate! So I signed up and talked my dad into doing the same.

 The class was led by Pat Hobbins-Kemps. Here she is:

The recipe I'm including is her recipe, although she was quick to point out that she really just takes it straight from the included sheet from the pectin package! So, let's get the ingredients out of the way:

Ingredients: Cherry Jam
4 cups chopped sour cherries
4 3/4 cups sugar (get this measured-super precisely-before starting, trust me.)
1 packet pectin
1/2 tsp butter (this cuts down on the foaming)

Ingredients: Cherry Jelly
3 1/2 cups sour cherry juice
4 cups sugar (same as above.)
1 packet pectin
1/2 tsp butter

You'll also need mason jars (we used little ones and doubled the recipe, but if you get 10 jars you should be okay on the single batch). I'd recommend making sure you have a canner (see below), a large pot, some hot mitts, a long spoon, the correct tongs (again, see below), and something to scald the lids/caps in. 

I am now going to tell you the FIRST BIG RULE: Do not cut the sugar amount. I know it seems like a lot. But if you change it, the jam and jelly will not form correctly. If you need to find a diabetic option, I'm sure they exist, but I don't know the trick there. So for this recipe, make sure you stick to the amounts given.
 
On to the Directions! One last caveat before getting started: Make sure you have a couple hours set aside where you will be uninterrupted for this process. You have to keep your focus on the cooking or you might burn your fruit. Also, you're dealing with sterilization and high heat. So you're going to be moving fast once things get rollin' and you'll want to make sure no little pitter-patterers will be under foot. Okay, caveat done. Let's get cookin'!

Directions: (This is for the jam, but the jelly process is pretty much identical. The difference is really just ingredient-based.)

1. Wash your mason jars with hot, soapy water. Then put them upside down into a water-filled canner. (I had no idea what a canner was, so here's a photo of what we were using.)

See where those handles are sticking up? It's like a little wire basket that the jars can sit in and then they go into the boiling water an inch or so. You really need the lip to be covered. Boil your jars for at least 10 minutes. Pat is a nurse, so her comfort level was closer to 20 minutes. I'd err on her side of caution, just saying. You're also going to scald the lids, see to the left of the jars? Keep them in a single layer and add more in as needed. These don't need to boil as long, but it's not going to hurt them to boil the same time as the jars.

2. Prepare the fruit. Make sure any stems, pits, vines, and not so desirable pieces of fruit are removed. Then chop. We used a really great food processor that I am decades away from being able to afford. Our cherries weren't totally chopped. We left them sort of chunky. It's a matter of preference. Here are the cherries before being mashed:

Let me just say: that whole kitchen smelled like cherry pie. It was divine.

3. Here's the SECOND BIG RULE: Measure the ingredients exactly. Do not guess. Do not fudge. Do not pass Go. This is not an easy rule for me. I work best when I can dash this and pinch that. But it won't fly on this one, so get precise. Pat also recommended counting out loud to make sure you don't lose count. It's good advice. So put in the exact amount of cherries using a liquid measuring cup. Get eye level to the measuring side and put it into a large cooking pan. Add the pectin and the butter and stir until the pectin is dissolved and the butter is pretty blended.

4. Bring the fruit mixture to a rolling boil. This means that it doesn't stop boiling when you stir it. You'll want it on high heat and make sure you're doing your best helicopter impression at this point. Hover over that baby and keep stirring. There's no such thing as over-stirring, so don't be shy.

5. As soon as it reaches the rolling boil, add your sugar and stir it in quickly. Return to a full rolling boil and keep it boiling for EXACTLY one minute. This is why you're hovering. Watch the time or count to 60, but keep track. After a minute, remove it from heat and skim off any foam that may have formed. Then get ready because the speed round is here.

6. You're going to use a pair of tongs (See images below for tong instructions. The bad ones will drip hot water down your arm. Use the others for your own safety.) to grab out the jars. Tip a jar and grab it by the lip. Don't try to fit the tongs around the circumference of the jar; they'll slip. Set it on the table.

Bad

Good

7. Dip a measuring cup into the hot fruit and then pour the fruit into the jar, leaving about 1/4 inch empty. Don't leave more than this or there will be too much excess space in the jar and it may not seal properly. Dip the tongs in the boiling jar water and then grab a lid/cap combo. Quickly cover the jar with a cap and then screw the lid on. Be careful not to touch the cap (the flat part with the rubber edge) because this will contaminate it. Just use your tongs to place it on the jar and then you can touch the part of the lid that screws on. Get it tight, but THIRD BIG RULE: Don't pick up the jar to do this. Keep it flat on the table to keep any product from touching the lid or cap and preventing it from sealing.

8. Let it stand for 24 hours. Make sure to put space (at least a few inches) between the jars so that air can flow around and between them. FOURTH BIG RULE: Don't re-tighten the jars after cooled or you will break the seal. Also, resist the urge to push on the top of the lid or you may break the seal. Basically, as soon as you tighten the lid, leave them alone. You'll hear them start to make a popping noise as the seal locks in. This is very exciting and caused a grand sense of pride among our group.

That's my dad, gracefully topping off the jar with a cap.

 9. Store unopened jams and jellies in a cool, dry, dark place up to 1 year! Refrigerate opened jams and jellies up to 3 weeks.

 
There were no major differences between the jam and jelly for these two recipes. IF you are doing a different jelly recipe, you may need to boil the fruit first and then strain it to get the "juice" only. Jelly doesn't use any fruit chunks or bits. Only the juice. We had cherry juice at our disposal, so we didn't worry about this. Again, the pectin box comes with instructions and recipes for a variety of jams and jellies, so you can't go wrong following those.

The biggest lessons we learned from the class centered around sterilization and quickness. If you pay attention to those parts of this blog, you should have success in your canning experience!

Big thanks to Pat and Holy Wisdom Monastery for this amazing learning opportunity! Enjoy!