1 kilogram pitted cherries
500 grams sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons unflavoured gelatine
Put the cleaned and pitted cherries in a large pot, cover with half of the sugar and let it sit for about an hour, at room temperature. After the cherries released their juice, add the lemon juice and transfer the pot to the stove and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and removing the foam that forms on the surface. While the cherries are bubbling, prepare the gelatine mixture, as well as the spiced sugar. Sprinkle 3 teaspoons of gelatine over 2 tablespoons of water and let it activate. In another bowl, whisk the rest of the sugar with the cinnamon and cloves until well incorporated, then set it aside.
After the first 20 minutes of cooking, pour in the rest of the sugar in the pot, mix really well and turn up the heat. Bring to a boil and let them boil away for another 20 minutes, but this time with more frequent stirring (it tends to bubble up really high). After 20 minutes, remove the jam from the heat, stir in the vanilla and the activated gelatine (mix it first with about a tablespoon of the hot jam, then pour it in the pot), stir really well, let it sit for 10 minutes and then fill the sterilised jar (I got one large 700 ml jar of the jam). Let the jam cool down at room temperature over night, then put it in the refrigerator in the morning. It's best to use it up within the first few weeks.
