This Experiment Was “The Pits” – Cherry Pan Jam

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

-Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”

In the culinary world, the road “less traveled by” is the road that must be traveled by those with special dietary needs. For many that need is to avoid added sugar, especially processed sugars, as much as possible. Fructose, found in agave nectar and as the natural sugar in fruit, is a bit easier for the body to handle as it has a lower glycemic index. Cherries themselves are very low on the glycemic index. Agave nectar, which is about 90% fructos, is at the very bottom of the glycemic index with a GI of a measly 11. It’s no surprise, then, that someone looking to make a low-sugar jam would go for a cherry jam.

Making sugar-free jam isn’t without its problems. The sugar often used in making preserves, gelling sugar helps the jam to set. Without this added pectin one finds themselves rather a bit on their own and in need of a bit of ingenuity to get things to come out right in the end. Even so, a sugar free jam isn’t going to be jelly as most people know it, but more of a fruit spread. To compound matters, cherries contain very little pectin. Citrus peels, however, are practically swimming in the stuff.

With all that in mind I set out to experiment.

Ingredients:

1 pound pitted cherries
1 oz agave nectar
8oz water
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1t almond extract

In order to pit cherries you will need a fancy little device to get the job done. It’s not hard to use, and in fact if you can use a stapler, you’re good to go. It is, however, a messy job. I highly suggest loading your cherry and then sticking your hand into a plastic grocery bag to catch the discarded pit, which will often zing out like a rock from a sling shot. Needless to say, this is not the time to wear your new white shirt or pull out your fancy white linen kitchen towels, or even your favorite wooden spoon as they will all be stained red. If you should decide to go outside and shoot pits at your kids or significant other while doing this… well, that’s on you. Just remember, it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Alternately, you could probably use frozen cherries in this without a problem. I simply like to stock up when cherries are on sale for right around $2 a pound for about a week out of the year. To pit a cherry (or an olive) simply rest the cherry in the bowl of the pitting tool and squeeze. Some models have a slot that you can slip the stem through, but really it doesn’t matter what direction you put your cherry in.

Once you have your cherries, pour 8 ounces of water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a near-simmer. Stir in your agave nectar, lemon juice and almond extract. Once those are in, add your lemon zest and then your whole cherries.

Bring the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Smash your fruit with a wooden spoon as it cooks. As it cooks it will become a pulpy mix. After 20 minutes, bring your cherry pan jam to a roiling bubble. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring constantly, until the liquid has reduced by 3/4ths or more and what remains has thickened.

Pull your saucepan from the burner and move to the side to cool, continuing to stir for the first few minutes so nothing scorches on the bottom of the still-hot pan. If you find that your cherries are not mashed enough you can also use an immersion blender to puree them, but this may result in added liquid and a need to re-heat and reduce further.

Once your jam is cool, transfer to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Without proper canning it is necessary to keep the jam in the refrigerator and it won’t keep as long as other types of preserves, either. On the other hand, it’s so good that a small batch like this likely won’t last that long anyway.