Spicy cherry jam has that perfect level of “sweet and tangy.” It’s sweet enough to work well with a simple piece of toast. And it’s tangy enough to hold its own with a strong cheese. Plus, it’s simple enough to make on the fly to use up those extra cherries at the end of a season.
🌶️ Quick recipe snapshot
| Flavor profile | Sweet, deep cherry with a tangy vinegar edge and a slow serrano warmth. |
| Primary heat source | One seeded serrano pepper. 10,000 to 23,000 SHU. |
| Heat level | Mild to medium. Spread over two jars, one serrano gives a gentle, warm finish. |
| Texture | Soft-set and spreadable, with small pieces of cherry. |
| Best uses | Toast, a cheese board, or a glaze for pork and chicken. |
| Customization ideas | A jalapeño for less heat, a habanero for more, sour cherries, or a cinnamon stick. |
| Before you start | About an hour, plus pitting. A cherry pitter and a candy thermometer both help. |
Flavor notes
We use serrano peppers in our recipe, which have a reasonably strong medium heat (10,000 to 23,000 Scoville heat units). If serranos are too spicy, jalapeño peppers have a similar bright, grassy bite but with roughly a third of the heat (2,500 to 8,000 SHU). Or, feel free to remove the heat altogether by subbing in more bell pepper.
Sweet cherries don’t bring much natural pectin, so this jam sets by cooking down. Aim for 220°F on a thermometer, which is the jelly point at sea level. It’s lower at higher elevations, so if you live up high, lean on the cold-plate test instead.
Stir more often as it thickens, and scrape the bottom as you go. Once most of the water has cooked off, the sugar can catch on the bottom of the pan and scorch, and a scorched batch tastes burnt all the way through.
Don’t judge the set while it’s hot. Jam looks runny in the pan and firms up as it cools, so trust the thermometer or the plate test over how it looks in the pot.
The vinegar keeps it from tasting one-note sweet. Apple cider vinegar is a good match for cherries, and white vinegar works if that’s what you’ve got.
Adaptation ideas
Most of these change the heat, the fruit or the texture.
- Want it milder? Use a seeded jalapeño in place of the serrano, or leave the chili out and add a little more bell pepper.
- Want more heat? Use two serranos, or swap in half a seeded habanero if you want a fruitier burn.
- Want it tarter? Use sour cherries in place of sweet ones.
- Want it smooth? Blend it all the way before the second boil if you want a jam with no pieces.
- Want a warm spice? Drop a cinnamon stick into the pan while it cooks, and pull it out before you jar the jam.
Serving ideas
It’s sweet enough for your breakfast toast and tangy enough for a cheese board.
- On toast. Or on biscuits, English muffins or a warm croissant.
- With cheese. Sharp cheddar, aged gouda, goat cheese or a wedge of brie, with crackers.
- As a glaze. Brush it over pork chops, pork tenderloin or chicken thighs near the end of cooking.
- Over cream cheese. Spoon it over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers.
Storage notes
This is a refrigerator jam, not a canning recipe. It hasn’t been tested for water-bath canning, and peppers are a low-acid ingredient that the National Center for Home Food Preservation warns can make a jam’s acidity unpredictable. So skip the cupboard and keep it in the fridge, where it’ll be good for up to three weeks.
If you need it to last longer, freeze it in freezer-safe containers with a little room at the top for up to a year. Thaw it in the fridge.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Strawberry Jalapeño Jam: A sweeter jam, with a touch less heat, making it a bit more family-friendly.
- Mango Habanero Jam: Want to step up the spiciness? Habs deliver a bold spiciness and mangos work well with that pepper’s tropical fruitiness.
- Ginger And Chili Jam: A twist on the flavor: ginger delivers a unique warmth.
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Spicy Cherry Jam
Ingredients
- 4 cups sweet cherries pitted and chopped (about 2 1/4 pounds before pitting)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 serrano pepper seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and finely diced
Instructions
- Put a small plate in the freezer for testing the set later.
- Add the cherries, vinegar, water, sugar, serrano and bell pepper to a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil.
- Boil steadily, stirring often, for about 20 minutes, until the cherries are soft.
- Take the pan off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then use a hand blender to blend the jam to your desired consistency (about half blended works best).
- Return the pan to medium-high heat and boil, stirring often and scraping the bottom as it thickens, until it reaches 220°F on a thermometer, about 10 to 20 minutes more.
- No thermometer? Spoon a little jam onto the cold plate and return it to the freezer for 1 minute. Push it with your finger: if it wrinkles, it's ready. If it's still runny, boil for a few more minutes and test again.
- Ladle the jam into 2 clean half-pint (8-ounce) jars, leaving a little space at the top. Let it cool, then seal and refrigerate. It firms up more as it chills.
