Jalapeño and cherry jam

Summer in Canada without gorging on fresh cherries just wouldn't be right. Produced mostly in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario, cherries are the only tree fruit that saw an increase in growing area between 1941 and 2011. B.C. alone produces 5.5 million kilograms of sweet cherries a year. So, what do you do with all the cherries when they're at their peak? Make preserves and jams, of course. Carly Kelly has a great recipe for jalapeno and cherry jam in her Vegan al Fresco cookbook.

Smear this spicy-sweet jam on crackers or slather it on scones.

Jalapeño and cherry jam

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 clove garlic, minced

1 onion, finely chopped

3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced

2 cup sweet cherries, stoned and roughly chopped

1/2 medium sweet apple like Gala, peeled, cored, and grated

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp white balsamic vinegar

In a large saucepan over medium-high, heat oil. Add cumin seeds, allow to sizzle, then add garlic and onions and saute for 5 mins, or until soft and lightly browned.

Stir in jalapeño, cherries, apple, sugar, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 40 to 50 minutes, until mixture is very thick. Stir more at beginning of cooking time, until fruit has release its juices.

Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

Cool completely, up to 1 hour.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator.