Mango Jam Recipe
A small shipment of our Surinam cherry and ginger jam is packed and headed back to the States. Our tree gave a bumper crop this year. I didn’t want the cherries to go to the birds, so I researched a great deal about cherry trees; particularly the Surinam cherry tree. I scoured the internet for superb Surinam cherry jam recipes. They do not exist. Not to be deterred, I adapted my own from various sources.
I was able to show a friend, Colleen, how to wash, pit, and prepare the cherries for her own family to eat out of hand. She went home with several jars of her own cherry jam and even ended up sending some to her daughter who lives in the capital city. I also gave Colleen a bag of cherry tree seeds we dried, and talked to her about the benefits of planting trees in her neighborhood. She took the seeds home, agreeing that another source of food, shade, and firewood was a good thing for her community. Colleen said she shared cherries with friends, family, and neighbors, and discussed the possibility of planting the trees in her area.
This was also the second year I was able to make mango jam. If you want to try your hand at this extremely easy recipe, you will not be disappointed. Here you are:
Ingredients:
7 cups ripe, cut mango; divided
1 cup unripe/green mango
8 cups sugar {or less to taste}, divided
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Additional Items Needed:
Deep pot or canner
Enough water to fill
Pint jars with lids and rings
Directions:
Measure 6 cups ripe, cut up mango. Add one cup unripe/green mango.
Pulse or mash with a potato masher {NOT puree} all seven cups of mango.
Put 7 cups pulsed mango in a pot with 1 cup cut {not pulsed} mango.
Add 6 cups sugar. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add:
2 cups sugar
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Simmer 45 minutes
Prepare:
4 Pint jars {or rough equivalent}, lids, and rings by washing and submerging in boiling water for ten minutes. Leave jars in boiling water until you are ready to fill them so there is less chance of cracking.
Remove jars from canner one by one; fill and top with lid and ring. Return each jar to the boiling water bath immediately and boil for 5 minutes. We are at a high altitude, so we have to process our jars for ten minutes. If you are at sea level, you need only boil your jars for 5 minutes.
Remove jars from water bath and let sit 24 hours without moving. Make sure the tops have sealed down, remove metal rings to reuse, and store in your pantry until needed.
