PREP: 1 hour 30 minutes PROCESS: 30 minutes MAKES: 5 quarts
5 qt. fresh sweet cherries (about 6½ lb.)
6 cups sugar
1½ cups regular Clear Jel (tip, page 213)
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups cold water
4 cups cranberry juice
½ cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lemon zest
1. Rinse and pit the cherries. Blanch cherries, 6 cups at a time, in 1 gal. boiling water. Boil each batch 1 minute after water returns to boiling. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cherries to a large bowl; cover to keep warm while blanching remaining cherries.
2. In an 8-qt. pot combine sugar, Clear Jel, and cinnamon. Stir in the 4 cups cold water and the cranberry juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add lemon juice and lemon zest. Boil 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Immediately fold in the cherries.
3. Pack hot filling into five hot sterilized quart canning jars, leaving a 1¼-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
4. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner 30 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. (Canning tips, pages 461–466.)
PER ½ CUP PIE FILLING: 218 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 13 mg sodium, 56 g carb., 2 g fiber, 1 g pro.