Sue Style - Cherry Jam Recipe - July 2018

Our food expert Sue Style came in to talk cherries! Baselland is big for cherries and this year is one of the best ever. For most farms, cherries are only a small part of their activities, but you will nevertheless find lots of cherries being sold outside farmhouses, for example in Schönenbuch and all around the Oberes Baselbiet - Maisprach, Magden and so on. Often there's just an honesty box for you to leave the change (love it!).

Basel and Northwestern Switzerland is good for cherry-growing; also the areas around Lake Lucerne, where much kirsch is distilled (for fondue, amongst other things). A few people still have the Brennrecht, an inherited right to distil at home without paying tax. In Switzerland, this right was obscurely linked to the number of cows on the farm - it's not clear if the kirsch was for the cows or the farmer (or both).

Around Basel, at least 20 different kinds of cherries are grown - one of the best is Schauenburger from Bad Schauenburg, near Liestal. Cherries are best eaten raw, but there are lovely recipes for cherry cakes, clafoutis (like a big cherry pancake), cherry pies - and jam! Jam is troublesome, if delicious, as you need to stone (i.e. pit!) the cherries - use special cherry-stoners / -pitters. You drop the cherry down the hole, bring down the handle and the stone shoots out the other side. Best to do this outside and in a bathing suit as you get covered in very staining red juice.

Cherry Jam Recipe

Cherries lack pectin, which is needed for a good set, so when making jam it's best to use special pectin-rich sugar (available in all supermarkets).

2 kg cherries

1 kg sugar with added pectin

juice of 2 lemons

optional: 2-3 tablespoons kirsch

Stone / pit the cherries and place in a large, deep preserving pan with the pectin-rich sugar. Stir well and leave for a few hours or until the cherries and sugar melt together to make lots of juice. Bring the cherries to a boil and boil hard for 15 minutes. Be sure to use a very large, deep pan, otherwise it may boil over. Meanwhile place a saucer or small dish in the freezer to get it good and cold.

After the cherries have boiled for at least 15 minutes, spoon a little out onto the saucer and draw your finger through the jam to test if it's set - it should make a distinct channel which doesn't close up again. If not, keep on boiling.

When the jam is ready, remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice (and kirsch, if using). Using a small jug, transfer the jam to clean, dry jars. Cover while still warm. Once cool, label and store the jam in a cool dry place.