• Wash the cherries and remove the stems.
• Place cherries in a large saucepan.
  4 cups cherries
• Cook cherries over medium heat and gently mush them with a wooden spoon or spatula as they heat up.
• Add in the sugar and lemon juice, and continue to cook, stirring often until the syrup comes to a boil.
  1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice
• Cook at a boil for two minutes, stirring the whole time. You may need to lower the heat a bit to keep the syrup from boiling over.
• Remove the pot from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for ~10-15 minutes.
• Place a fine metal sieve over a bowl and carefully pour the syrup through the sieve to strain out the pits.
• If storing in the fridge, allow the syrup to fully cool before placing it in a jar/bottle in the fridge. Store for up to two weeks.

How to Can Cherry Syrup

• Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch once the water is boiling.
• Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high.
• Wash and sanitize your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170˚F.
• Wash your lids and set aside in a clean bowl.
• Ladle in the warm syrup into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).
• Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any syrup.
• Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.
• Using canning tongs, add jars to the boiling water, and put the canner lid on. Pro tip: you must have at least 1 inch of water over the tops of the jars for safe canning.
• Process half-pints and pints based on the elevation guide below:

  *0-1,000 ft – Half-Pints & Pints =10 min 

  *1,001-6,000 ft – Half-Pints & Pints =15 min 

  *6,000 ft+ – Half-Pints & Pints =20 min 
• Once the syrup has processed for the appropriate amount of time, remove the canner from the burner, and carefully remove the lid of the canner (Pro tip: use oven mitts to take the lid off because the steam is super hot).
• After the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner, use canning tongs to carefully remove the jars, and place them on a thick towel in a place where they can be undisturbed for 12 hours.
• After 12 hours, check the seal on the jars by pressing down in the center of the lid. If there is any give, either refrigerate and use those jars in the next month or reprocess.
• Store in a cool dark place for 12-18 months.