Cherry Jubilee

Although I usually like to buy fruit at the farmers’ market, I do make some exceptions. Cherries were on sale at Whole Foods and if I bought a whole case I would get the case discount on top of the sale price. So, eighteen pounds found their way into my cart and followed me home. The result: 8 half-pints of jam, 4 pints of cherries in red wine, and 4 pints of brandied cherries. For the jam, I made 4 jars using Pomona’s Pectin and 4 using a recipe that called for cooking an apple with the jam to thicken it. They both turned out fine but the jam with apple took about twice as long to thicken as the other. Both had about the same amount of sugar.