Evan's Cherry Jelly

Evan's Cherries are great for making jelly.  

I was delighted to discover this cherry when I moved to Southern Alberta. Apparently the tree grows well in Prairie climates and some internet searches say it may have come to Alberta from Alaska. It is named for Evans a horticulturalist and research scientist for Alberta Agriculture who cultivated the plant after a gardener invited him to take some of the tree's for the Alberta Tree Nursery. She had been growing cherry trees since 1923 in her orchard near Fort Saskatchewan. Luckily my inlaws have several trees ripe for picking in their condo complex. 

Evans Cherries are a bright red fruit. They tend toward a sour cherry. In the spring they have beautiful white blossoms and grow to a height of 12-14 feet.

This fruit box equalled 20 cups of pressed juice and made 32 jars of jelly. 

To Make Evan's Cherry Jelly:

Wash the fruit and remove all stems, leaves and other twigs.

Rig up your press. I found this one at a antique store for $20. Back in the day people used to make jelly. Pour about 2 cups of cherries in at a time. Press it down with a wooden spoon.

Four cups of cherries yields about 3 cups of juice. If your lucky your sidekick or L in my case will come to your assistance and offer to press all the cherries. He is really wonderful. 

Skim off the murky scum.

Prepare your jars. Wash with warm soapy water. Rinse. Heat up the kettle and pour boiling water over the tops to steralize. Dump out the excess water. I usually have two cookie sheets and transfer the jars between the two. 

Heat up the lids on the stove in a small pot to boiling. I'm not sure why but you do. I guess it helps with sealing later? In a big pot pour in 10 cups of cherry juice and 14 cups of sugar. Yipes!  I guess that is why you only have a teaspoon or two on your toast. Add in one package of cherry jello. My mom always did that I am not sure why. Just do it. Heat it to boiling. Be careful to not let it boil over the edge which I did on my second go around. It was a real mess. 

After it boils add in 4 pouches of liquid pectin and boil for 1 minute longer while stirring. There are 2 pouches of pectin in each box of Bernardin Liquid Pectin. You can buy the jars and pectin at Canadian Tire. 

Remove from heat and using a measuring cup pour into the ready jars. Fish out the lids from the boiling water and screw on the lids. Use a towel to help hold the jars while screwing on the lid.

Listen to the music of popping as the jars seal. 

Oh what fun!