TART CHERRY-COFFEE PRESERVES

MADE WITH FROZEN CHERRIES, THESE PRESERVES CAN BE MADE YEAR-ROUND AND ARE GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS. THE COFFEE-CHERRY COMBINATION PAIRS WONDERFULLY WITH HAM.

PREP: 30 MINUTES STAND: 30 MINUTES PROCESS: 10 MINUTES MAKES: 6 HALF-PINTS

½ cup unsweetened cherry juice
⅓ cup Italian-roast whole coffee beans
6 ¼ cups sugar
5 cups fresh or thawed frozen pitted tart red cherries, quartered
1 6-ounce package (2 foil pouches) liquid fruit pectin

1. In a small saucepan bring cherry juice to boiling. Add coffee beans; cover pan and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving juice. Discard coffee beans.

2. In a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot combine the reserved cherry juice, sugar, and cherries. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin. Return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon.

3. Ladle hot preserves into hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a ¼ -inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.

4. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner: cool on wire racks.

PER 1TABLESPOON: 67 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 1 mg sodium, 17 g carb., 0 g fiber, 0 g pro.