Yellow cherry jam with fragrant geranium

Granny prepared jams every summer. 

Cherry, yellow cherry, sour cherry, apricot... a lot of jams. I loved to be around her in the kitchen and to observe her skillfull movements which turned the fresh ripe fruits into jars full of summer. Especially the cherry jams, they really required patiency. We had no cherry pitter and she removed the pitted all the cherries with the ears of small hairpin, used only for these purposes. One after another. Gently touches, careful pressing of the little fruits in order not to destroy their tender structure. I was always around ready to eat any torn fruit which did not meet granny's criteria. But she was always very good and I had to rely on my fast reactions to take one while she turned her back to me. The best fruits of summer intended to send the summer message to all the other seasons. I really love to recall these moments. And inspite the fact that the shelves of the supermarkets are full of jams I prepare some home-made jams every summer and present them to the people I love. Like hitchhiking a time-machine which moves me back to the time I was a kid, Granny was alive and we were both in the kitchen surrounded by cherries. 

And I know from her - yellow cherry jam has to be flavored with fragrant geranium leaves. The scent of geranium provides the jam with rose-vanilla aromas and makes it taste homy. 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg yellow cherries (Rainier variety works also well)
• 1 kg granulated sugar
• 3 leaves of fragrant geranium
• 1 tsp citric acid (about 5 g)

Preparation:

Wash, stem and pit the cherries and put them in a bowl. Add sugar, mix to combine and let stay for 3-4 hours or overnight. Cherries will release some juices into the sugar. Add 150 ml water and bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat. Boil slowly for 30 minutes, skimming the foam which rises on top of the syrup. Drop a little jam on a plate to check wheather the jam has reached the right consistency. Add citric acid, boil for additional minute or two and add geranium leaves. Take from the stove and let for some hours to infuse. Take out the leaves and ladle jam into clean dry jars.