Canning - Sour Cherry Sauce

As of late, I have become completely obsessed with jarring and canning. So far, I have tried five different recipes, as of yet, the four I have tasted have made me want to jar everything I can. The fifth recipe, tomato salsa, requires a 2 week sitting for the flavors to meld. I'm counting down the days!

After I made the strawberry jam, I got an insane craving for those delicious cherry sundaes you can get at the Wisconsin State Fair. So, in honor of the fair opening today, I'll share the recipe so you can get your fix once the fair is all over.

If you've never had one of these cherry sundaes, run yourself over to the Wisconsin Products Pavilion at the fair and spend the $3 or whatever to get the best summer treat. While you're at the Products Pavilion, be sure to get your apple cider, apple cider doughnut, and cranberry cookie. You can tell this is my fave edibles place at the fair.

This cherry sauce is so good, and I think my favorite part of it is that the recipe uses pineapple juice to provide half of the sweetness, cutting down on the amount of sugar needed. The pineapple juice also give the sauce a little extra flavor kick.

While I really enjoy this sauce on ice cream, you can also use it for adding a great cherry taste to many things, for instance: waffles, pancakes, crepes (We tried this! So good!! Thanks Kali!), cheesecake, pie, and even stirred into plain or vanilla yogurt.

The only bad part of this recipe is pitting the cherries, but I enjoyed this task while sitting in front of the television. I don't own a cherry pitter, so I used a medium-sized straw to poke the pits through, and this seemed to work well.

I hope if you decide to try and jar one recipe this year that this will be it! The recipe makes a good amount without requiring an obscene amount of cherries. Also, if you're in the Milwaukee area, the West Allis Farmer's Market has a great cherry vendor who sells the smaller tart cherries for $2.50 a pint (or 2 pints for $4).

Sour Cherry Sauce

Ingredients:
-4 & 1/2 cups fresh or frozen sour cherries, de-stemmed and pitted
-1 & 1/2 cups water
-3/4 cup pineapple juice
-1 cinnamon stick, 4 inches long
-3/4 cup sugar
-3 tablespoons cornstarch
-1/3 cup cold water
-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a medium non-reactive pot, combine cherries, water, pineapple juice, and cinnamon stick. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat when boil is reached, cover and boil gently for 10 minutes.

Remove cinnamon, then add sugar to cherries. Mix cornstarch with water and add to cherry mixture. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered. After 5 minutes, or when clear and thickened, stir in the lemon juice.

Pack into sterilized jars to 1/2 inch from rim. Cover with lids and process in boiling water bath to keep for a year. If you're not using sterilized jars, store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks, or freeze. Enjoy!