Morello Cherry Preserves

This is our favorite way of having cherries on hand that can be turned into a bunch of great recipes with minimal effort... sauce, vinaigrette, dessert topping, pastry filling, or a wonderfully simple but amazing glaze. Keep it on hand yourself and find out how many uses you can find for it!

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Yields: 25 oz

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) jar  morello cherries, drained and juice reserved (available at Trader Joe's)
• 1⁄2 cup cherry juice (from the jar)
• 1  cup sugar
• 2  tablespoons lemon juice
• 1  lemon, zest of
• 1  tablespoon  kirschwasser (cherry brandy or plum liqueur can be substituted)
• 0.5 (1 3/4ounce) package  dry pectin
• 1  pinch salt

Directions

1. Combine cherries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a non-reactive bowl and let stand for 30 minutes.
2. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, combine cherry juice and pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil for 1 minute.
3. Add cherries/sugar/lemon mixture, kirschwasser, and salt to juice/pectin mix. Bring back to boil for 3 minutes.
4. Allow to cool to room temperature.
5. Store in air-tight jar. (You can process this by canning it for extended storage.).