Are you sure you're not a cherry hoarder, LOL? 10 pounds in the fridge, no time and you buy another 7?

If those 7 are Royal Ann's they'll probably keep but Rainiers are very short lived, so it does depend upon the variety.

OK, jesting aside. I have never frozen cherries with pits so can't envision how that would turn out, but I can envision quite a mess trying to pit them after thawing. Sweet cherries are messy and tough to pit fresh. I think frozen and thawed might be asking for trouble.

For the best results with sweet cherries you'd pit, acidify to prevent browning and pack in sugar or simple syrup and freeze.

Pie cherries freeze beautifully pitted and then just packed plain.

You should use the amount of sugar called for in any regular pectin recipe. Ironically, commercial pectin requires more sugar to set properly and with cherries, which are very low in natural pectin, it's even more of an issue. The exception would be the low-sugar pectins which have their own recipes and Pomona Pectin.

Sour cherries or sweet, it doesn't make a difference.

Carol

Are Bings considered sweet (I think they taste a bit sour)? I have about 3 lbs bought Sat that I don't think the family is going to eat (bought 4 and they've only gone through 1), it's raining and I have time to can today.

Also have 4 pints of blueberries that didn't sell, picked a week ago (I have been freezing them) and some blackberries picked this weekend I won't sell tomorrow (I'll only sell berries picked within 48 hours) so maybe try a cherry-berry jam?

Sorry if this is a hijack - I never know when it's proper to start a new thread and when to tag along.

They're considered a sweet cherry. I think you'll find that canned they taste just fine and thickened after opening they're a great sauce. (Love them on cheesecake.)

You could try an Old Bachelor jam, which is basically a mixture of small amounts of various berries and fruits. It sounds kind of fun and should taste delicious.

Carol

If on a sugar restricted diet as we should always be, I find that I use about 1/3 as much sugar as with tart cherries.
I think for 10 quarts of sweet cherry peach pie filling, I used only 3 cups of sugar total whereas I believe the approved recipe has 1 cup of sugar per quart - WAAY too much sugar. It is also sweet enough to be used as waffle or ice cream topping (its primary usages). If my wife did not have such a sweet tooth, I would have cut that in half.
Just my thoughts and continuing observations (the pie filling sits at my feet as I type).
Jim in So Calif

Didn't get to the cherries - it *didn't* rain so I picked blueberries today and made pickles tonight. Lots of overripe blueberries - so have to make a pie or something (I guess I could make Blueberry Lime jam, but they're so ripe that I don't even want to guess at the pH - ate the ones that actually squished as I picked but these are soft).

Really OT, but does someone have a good recipe for blueberry (or maybe bumbleberry since I have the cherries and blackberries too) pie? Family reunion Sat, I was going to bring potato salad but I can bring a dessert too.

You need a good pitter. Then it wouldn't take long at all to do and you could make jam or whatever you want to do with them.

You need a good pitter. Then it wouldn't take long at all to do and you could make jam or whatever you want to do with them.

I bought the Oxo pitter recently at a Target for less than $11. I spread out an old towel on the floor, watch a brainless TV show and pit them fairly quickly. I'd definitely freeze them pitted.

It's good to know that cherries are very low in pectin; that probably explains the cherry-berry ice cream syrup I just canned. I originally thought I was making jam but it didn't jell the way I expected. :)

Whenever I make cherry-berry syrup (or similar sauces), I always have mixing bowl of ClearJel mixed with fruit juice so I can add just the amount I need at the end of cooking to make a nice flowable (but not too flowable) syrup. Keep a spoon in the juice/ClearJel mixture as it will settle out pretty quickly before it is cooked.
Jim in So Calif