Cherry season is short and sweet and I wanted to make the most of it last December. I made drunken cherries with a quarter of a box I bought directly from the farm. And with another quarter I made cherry and vodka jam. As Dave was away, I ate the rest of the box as snacks over the weekend.
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Cherry And Vodka Jam ♥
There are a lot of reasons I spend part of my Saturday morning baking. The first reason is that weekends are for eating whatever we want. And sweet treats appear high on that list. The second reason is that once upon a time (how every good story should start according to Hannah), I was named the best baking blog on a local radio station. And most recently, Hannah has been joining me on a Saturday morning. It is impossible to cook elaborate dishes when you have a three-year old as a sous chef. And I still want to keep her away from heat sources until she can stand at the stove and see what she is doing. So baking is the best way for us to be chefs in the kitchen together. Needing a photograph for my cherry and vodka jam I decided Hannah and I would bake scones.
Today’s inspirational recipe from Lavender and Lime ♥ Cherry And Vodka Jam ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X
The recipe started off with having to count cups of flour, and she did the counting. And then she helped rub in the butter. I prefer to use a pastry cutter for this, and Hannah joined in with a spoon. She then whisked the egg into the milk and after I poured it in and saw the mixture was batter not dough, she told me I should not have poured all of it in at once. A very wise child indeed. Once I had added enough flour Hannah helped flatten the dough. To her this meant squishing it, and licking off what stuck to her fingers. I had to encourage her to not put her hands back into the dough after that. She helped cut them out with the cookie cutter and waited patiently for them to bake and cool so that she could taste one.
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Cherry And Vodka Jam
Ingredients
- 500 g cherries, pitted weight
- 150 mls water
- 250 g fructose
- 15 mls lemon juice
- 10 g apple pectin
- 50 mls vodka *
Method
- Place the cherries and water into a large sauce and bring to the boil over a medium-to-low temperature
- Add the fructose and lemon juice and increase the temperature, stirring until the fructose dissolves
- When boiling, add the pectin and stir to dissolve
- When the jam reaches 100° Celsius, lightly mash the fruit
- Continue boiling until the temperature reaches 104° Celsius
- Remove from the heat and skim off the scum
- Add the vodka and stir to mix it in
- Place into sterilized glass jars, seal and leave to cool
- Place into the fridge to set completely
Notes
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime January 28:
- 2019: Vegan Meringues
- 2018: Haunted
- 2016: Sugar Paste Flowers
- 2015: Wine Tasting At Anura
- 2012: Tangzhong Bread
- 2011: Sweet Chilli Sauce
Baking with little kids is so much fun. I did laugh at your comment on the picture that these were not the scones you baked with Hannah. When I used to bake scones with my lads, they were always overworked and a bit lumpy.
sadly, it was a recipe that failed that I baked with Hannah! Seems to be the norm when testing recipe books sadly.
Does the alcohol in the vodka help to preserve the jam from moulding? I find that low-sugar jam is less stable than higher-sugar versions. Too bad the scones failed.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I added the alcohol for taste but I am sure it will act as a preserve 🙂
I like the sound of this.
Thank you Sheree 🙂
This jam sounds delicious, I didn’t think vodka had much taste, but obviously in jam it comes to the party. Our cherry season is too short as well. We just eat the cherries from the supermarket , as none are locally grown.
Ours are grown about 100km away so I consider that local for cherry season 🙂
how nice to have such a sous chef! and those scones look delicious!
I’m very blessed.
This is quite intriguing! I love the cherry part – what exactly does the vodka do? Or taste?
It just adds to the taste of the jam – just a slight hint of the booze, but not too much.
I love fruit preserves with an addition of alcohol, but I’ve never used vodka. Interesting!
Very, given your background 🙂
I should have cooked more with my kids–now I just need some grandkids to make up for it! I have so many frozen cherries, I think I may try this jam. I love the overtones alcohol adds to jam!
Let me know if you make it 🙂