Cherry jam made without pitting cherries is the tastiest ever, says Lithuanian cook

A home cook in Lithuania has discovered a surprisingly simple and delicious method for making cherry jam, bypassing the tedious task of pitting the fruit. Faced with an abundant harvest from two cherry trees, the cook sought a way to preserve the berries without the usual labor.

Traditional methods of pitting cherries were unappealing, with the thought of manually removing each pit or using small tools seeming too time-consuming and messy. Instead, the cook found a recipe that allowed for the pits to remain during the initial cooking phase. This method proved to be a 100% success, yielding a jam that tasters universally praised as fantastic.

The recipe involves washing and draining 2 kg of cherries, then cooking them with 1 kg of sugar for about 20 minutes until they soften. The cooked cherries are then poured into a sieve placed over another pot. The juice drains into the bottom pot, while the cherries remain in the sieve. A potato masher is used to press the cherries, separating the pulp from the pits. The strained juice and mashed cherry pulp are then returned to a pot with lemon juice and 100g of pectin. This mixture is boiled for another 20-25 minutes until the jam thickens. Finally, the hot jam is poured into sterilized jars, sealed, and covered to cool. The resulting sweet-and-sour jam is reportedly the best many have ever tasted.