Cornelian Cherry Jam (Drenki Jam)
Cornelian cherry jam is made with the ripe berries of the Cornelia tree. This jam has delicate sweet and tart notes and tastes delicious spread on buttered toast or pancakes. This recipe comes from Bulgaria, where Cornelian cherries are highly appreciated for their health properties. The local name for the Cornelian berries is Drenki and the name of the jam is Drenki jam.
Equipment
- a jam pan
Ingredients
- 1 kg cornelian berries
- 1.5 kg granulated sugar
- 500 ml water
- 5 g citric acid or 1 orange
Instructions
- Wash the berries well and remove their pips. Heat water in a large saucepan on the hob to the boil. Place the berries in a sieve and dip them in the saucepan with boiling water for a few seconds. Immediately after that, transfer the sieve with the berries to a large bowl with ice-cold water and let them cool for a few seconds. Repeat this step a couple of times.
- In a large jam pan, bring 500 ml of water to the boil. Make sugar syrup by adding the sugar to the boiling water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange juice ad stir, then remove it from the heat.
- Add the berries to the hot sugar syrup and let them soak for 2 hours. Transfer the pot with the syrup and the berries to the hob. Bring the syrup to a full boil and simmer until the jam gets thicker.
- If you decide to use citric acid in your jam, add it when the jam is almost cooked. Let the jam simmer with the preservative for 4-5 minutes.
- Transfer the jam into sterilised jars while it is still warm. First, fish the berries out of the syrup with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the sterilised jars, then pour the syrup over the berries. Leave 1-inch headspace in each jar of jam and tighten the lids. Place the jam jars upside down on a tea towel and leave them cool overnight. When the jam cools, the syrup will turn into jelly.