Cherry preserves in sugar syrup

Ingredients

• 1 kg pitted cherries
• 1 kg sugar
• 200 ml water
• 30 ml lemon juice
• 1/3 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Preparation

1. Wash the cherries and drain them well, then carefully remove the stems and pits so they stay whole. Drain off the juice they release. 2. In a wide saucepan, bring the sugar, water and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it boils, lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 15 minutes. Drip a little into a glass of cold water; it is ready when the drop reaches the bottom without spreading. 3. Take the saucepan off the heat, add the cherries without their drained juice and cook over low to medium heat for 4 minutes. 4. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with a clean, damp, well-wrung-out towel. Leave it in a cool place, not in the refrigerator, for 12 hours. 5. The next day, if the syrup is too thin, strain the cherries and boil the syrup together with the juice they released overnight for 10 minutes. Put the fruit back in and boil everything for another 5 minutes. If using almond extract, add it at the end. 6. Boil the clean jars for 10 minutes, then leave them to dry. Spoon the hot preserves into the jars, seal them tightly and turn them upside down onto their lids. Leave them to cool for 2 hours.