Cherry and Cinnamon Jam

Sorry, people, it wasn't really my intention to wait so long before posting the first recipe after I asked you tell me which one(s) of the recipes in my previous post you liked best. But in the meantime, work deadlines kept me pretty busy here and then we made a short trip (only 1300 km in three days) and left our older daughter with her grandparents (my husband's parents). Well that wasn't easy at all... for us. It's the first time ever we are being separated, and my husband tried really hard to convince her to come back home with us. But she was happy as a little monkey, because she knows her grandparents are going to spoil her, take her everywhere she wants to go and buy her everything she wants. And guess who cried most? Her little sister of course. She cried for almost 200 km and only calmed down after she got an icecream. Sister love has a really high price, doesn't it? ^__^

Now back to the recipes. Most of you were interested in jams, closely followed by Bulgur salad and ice creams. So I wanted to start with my favourite of the three jams, Cherry and Cinnamon Jam.
The method used for making this jam is completely natural, without any industrial pectin added, and yet cooking time is relatively short which results in great taste. I've already used this method when making Peach and Rosemary Jam, as well as Grape and Thyme Jam. And I've used it for the other two jams you could see in my previous post.
The thing is very simple: instead of adding jellying sugar or industrial pectin, lemon skins and seeds are used. Like some other fruit (for example, apples and red currants), these parts of lemon are particularly rich in pectin and they help jams jellyfy real quick. You can also play with your jam adding different flavours and spices of your choice. I chose cinnamon and vanilla for cherries, vanilla and lemon thyme for strawberries and rosemary for mixed berries. It's fun and easy. With this method you won't fail, even if it's your first time ever making a jam.

Cherry and Cinnamon Jam

(for approx. 400 g of jam):
* 1/2 kg cherries, pitted
* 200 g sugar
* 1 lemon
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1/2 vanilla bean

* Wash the cherries and pit them. Weigh them pitted.
Cut them in half or in quarters if very big, and put them in a bowl. Add the sugar, mix well, cover and keep in the fridge for 12 hours, stirring every now and then.
* Strain the cherries to separate the juice from the pulp. Place the juice into a pot you'll be using to cook the jam, and place the pulp again into the bowl.
* cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds with the dull side of a knife. Add the seeds to the cherry pulp.
* Peel the lemon - remove and discard the zest (unless you are using an organic lemon, then use it as you wish). Squeeze the juice and add it to the cherry pulp, but keep the skins and the seeds - they contain natural pectin you'll need to help this jam thicken quickly.
Place both empty lemon halves, the lemon seeds, the cinnamon stick and the scraped vanilla bean on a piece of cheesecloth. Form a little package tying it tightly.
* Start cooking the juice alone first. It will take about 20 minutes before it starts caramelizing slightly.
* At this point add the fruit pulp and the package with the lemon skins and spices.
* Cook for 10 minutes stirring often, but not continuously.
* Remove the lemon package and squeeze out as much juice from it back to the pot.

* Cook for five more minutes, then remove from heat and pour into clean, sterilized jar(s). Close them tightly and turn upside down. Leave them in this position until the jam is cold, and then store in a cool dry place.
I got enough jam to fill two small (150 ml) jars, approximately 400 g of jam.

* If you prefer smoother jam, without pieces of fruit, just before putting it into jars mix it using an immersion blender.
* To sterilize jars, place clean and dry jars in a cold oven and then turn it on to 110°C. Keep the jars in the oven until the jam is ready. I usually start heating the oven once I start cooking the jam.

Confettura di ciliegie con cannella


* 1/2 kg ciliegie, denocciolate
* 200 g zucchero
* 1 limone
* 1 steccha di cannella
* 1/2 baccello di vaniglia


* Lavate le ciliegie e denocciolatele. Tagliatele in due o in quattro.
Mettete le ciliegie in un contenitore con coperchio, unite lo zucchero, mescolate bene e lasciate in frigo per 12 ore, mescolando ogni tanto.
* Passate le 12 ore, scolate la frutta per separare il succo. Mettete il succo in una pentola, e la polpa di nuovo nella ciotola.
* Pelate la parte gialla del limone (se biologico usate la buccia per qualcos’altro, altrimenti potete buttarla) e spremete il succo. Aggiungete il succo spremuto alla frutta. Conservate le due metà del limone vuote e i semi.
* Tagliate il baccello di vaniglia in due orizzontalmente e con un coltello togliete i semi e aggiungeteli alla frutta.
* Mettete le due metà del limone e i semi su un pezzo di garza pulita, insieme alla cannella e il baccello di vaniglia. Legate la garza per formare un fagottino.
* Mettete la pentola con il succo di ciliegie sul fuoco e cuocete finché inizia a caramellare leggermente, circa 20 minuti.
* Aggiungete adesso la polpa di ciliegie e il fagottino con limone e le spezie. Cuocete mescolando spesso per circa 10 minuti. Togliete il fagottino di garza spremendo bene tutto il succo.
* Lasciate cuocere la confettura altri 5 minuti e poi versatela ancora calda nei vasetti di vetro sterilizzati. Chiudeteli, capovolgeteli e lasciateli raffreddare in questa posizione.


* Se volete ottenere la confettura liscia, senza pezzettini di frutta, prima di invasarla frullatela con un frullatore a immersione.
* Per sterilizzarli, mettete dei vasetti lavati e asciugati nel forno spento. Portate la temperatura del forno a 110°C e lasciate i vasetti dentro fino al momento di versare la confettura.
* Con queste dosi ho ottenuto circa 400 g di confettura (due vasetti da 150 ml).

Džem od trešanja s cimetom


* 1/2 kg trešanja
* 200 g šećera
* 1 limun
* 1 štapić cimeta
* 1/2 mahune vanilije


* Trešnje operite, izvadite im koštice i narežite ih na pola ili na četvero.
Pomiješajte ih u zdjeli sa šećerom, poklopite i ostavite 12 sati u hladnjaku. Povremeno promiješajte.
* Nakon što su trešnje odstajale, procijedite ih i stavite kuhati sok u dublju posudu.
Kuhajte ga 20-ak minuta, odnosno dok ne vidite da se lagano počinje karamelizirati.
* U međuvremenu ogulite limun (odstranite vanjski žuti dio, ne treba vam. Ako je limun neprskani, koricu iskoristite naravno u druge svrhe).
Mahunu vanilije prerežite na pola i tupom stranom noža sastružite sjemenke. Dodajte sjemenke trešnjama.
Iscijedite sok iz limuna i dodajte ga trešnjama, a korice i sjemenke stavite u komad čiste gaze zajedno sa štapićem cimeta i mahunom vanilije. Zavežite da dobijete paketić.
* Dodajte sad trešnje (pomiješane sa sokom limuna i vanilijom) i paketić s korama limuna u lonac s malo ukuhanim sokom. Kuhajte 10 minuta povremeno miješajući.
* Izvadite gazu s limunom i cimetom, dobro je pritisnite žlicom ili vilicom uz stijenke posude da ocijedite što više soka.
* Kuhajte još 5 minuta, maknite s vatre i ulijte u tople sterilizirane staklenke.
Zatvorite staklenke i okrenite ih na poklopac. Ostavite ih tako dok se ne ohlade, a zatim uspremite.


* Ako želite pekmez, bez komadića voća, prije nego ćete ga sipati u staklenke kratko sve izmiksajte štapnim mikserom (bolje je izmiksati ga na kraju, nego prije kuhanja).
* Staklenke ćete sterilizirati tako što ćete ih dobro oprane i osušene staviti u hladnu pećnicu, koju zatim uključite i zagrijte na 110°C. Držite ih na toj temperaturi dok pekmez nije gotov.
*Od ove količine trešanja dobila sam dvije staklenke od 150 ml, otprilike 400 g gotovog džema.