Cherry Preserves

On Saturday I was able to whip out my canning stuff and make some Cherry Preserves. My Grandma was kind enough to donate some cherries from her garden so that I could make some.
Here I am cooking the cherry mixture up and flushed because I am SO HOT!!! It is not fun standing in front of a hot stove constantly on a hot day. Blech! I do have to say that it was worth it though. It is so yummy. I got the recipe from Recipe Zaar. It's called Best Cherry Preserves.

With this recipe I didn't cut up or pulverize the cherries. Instead I just threw them in whole (minus the pits). I did crush them a little with the potato masher but that was it.
Everything is ready for the water bath canning. That is another thing I did different from the recipe. I heard that it's not as sterilized the other way so I did it this way.
This is what it ended up like. I did have one jar that didn't seal and I think it's because I didn't clean off the top that well. Oh darn. I'll have to use it up. I have something in mind for it. Something that has to do with pork. Mmmmm...
What do you do with the rest of the cherries you don't use? We froze them. I put them on a cookie sheet and stuck it in the freezer. That makes sure they freeze and don't get stuck together. Then I transferred them to a freezer bag all ready for a smoothie or whatever I decide to use it for.

If you are really into canning I would try this recipe. I really really like it. The tartness of the cherries and the sweetness of the sugar make it a yummy treat.