Homemade Cherry Almond Jam

We have a cherry tree in our yard & love to make cherry jam with them.  I heard recently that with artificial flavorings, almond & cherry are very similar.  In trying to find proof of this, I read that for flavorings in cherry coke & othe artificial cherry flavorings, they use almond oils.  Also, I read that maraschino cherries have almond extract in them.  Interesting...

So, I decided to try cherry jam with almond extract and see how it tasted.  It's divine!

8 cups pitted cherries (about 4 pounds)

1-1/2 cups water

10 cups sugar

2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin

1 teaspoon almond extract

In a stock pot, bring the cherries and water to a boil; boil for 15 minutes.

Add sugar and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes. Stir in pectin; return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in extract. Skim off foam.

Carefully ladle into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. head space. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: 11 half-pints.

The processing time listed is for altitudes of 1,000 feet or less. Add 1 minute to the processing time for each 1,000 feet of additional altitude.