Low-Sugar Chocolate Cherry Jam Canning Recipe
21. January 2026This Chocolate Cherry Jam recipe is a sweet homemade treat for Valentine’s Day (or for sharing year round). It’s a low sugar water bath canning recipe made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. This specialty pectin allows for a reduced amount of sugar which allows the fruit to stand out. It’s the perfect amount of sweetness for jam.
Our Custom Apothecary Cherry Labels are perfect for labeling this jam.
I know what you’re thinking. What on earth would I even eat chocolate cherry jam with? I would answer that with another question. What wouldn’t you eat chocolate cherry jam with? It’s truly tasty in oatmeal, yogurt, and smeared on top of sourdough bread. It’s delightful spread on top of a cheesecake or spooned onto thumbprint cookies too. And eating it straight out of the jar is perfectly acceptable as far as I’m concerned.
Our recipe was adapted from a Pomona’s Universal Pectin recipe. This specialty pectin is available at many grocery stores or can be purchased online. It’s unsweetened, preservative-free, and jells reliably with very low amounts of any sweetener. So this is a great pectin to try if you are looking to reduce the amount of sugar in your canned jams and jellies or if you want to try natural sweeteners instead.
Our Custom Apothecary Cherry Labels are perfect for labeling this jam.
This Pomona’s Pectin recipe only requires a mere 1¼ cups of sugar. By contrast, Ball Canning also has a chocolate cherry jam recipe. Ball’s recipe uses 6 cups of sugar (so that’s 1 cup of sugar per 1 cup of fruit). WOW!
When using Pomona’s Pectin, you will find two small packets of powders in the box: a pouch of pectin and a separate pouch of calcium to make the required calcium water. It may seem intimidating at first, but using Pomona’s is easy once you get the hang of it and a whole new world of alternative sweeteners in canning will be opened up to you.
NOTE: This recipe is specially created to use Pomona’s Universal Pectin for a low sugar recipe. Do not swap pectins.
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Low-sugar Chocolate Cherry Jam
Recipe was adapted from Pomona's Universal Pectin ©CanningCrafts 2026
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Preservation method: Water bath canning (or steam canning)
Difficulty level: Easy to moderate
YIELD: Makes about 5 half pint jars
Head space: 1/4 inch (.635 cm)
Processing Time: 10 minutes
- 2½ pounds frozen, pitted sweet cherries, chopped in half (I used four 10-oz bags of frozen cherries which was the perfect amount for this recipe)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted (with no other added ingredients)*
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup lemon juice bottled
- 3 teaspoons calcium water (see info below)
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 2½ teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sugar
*Note: This recipe is specially created to use Pomona’s Universal Pectin for a low sugar recipe. Do not swap pectins.
PRINT THE RECIPE CARD
Adapted recipe: The original Pomona’s Pectin recipe called for ground cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I omitted those and added almond extract instead. Their recipe also uses fresh cherries. But since I made this out of season, I used frozen instead. I sliced the cherries in half when they were still frozen since they were easier to work with that way (and they were still frozen when I started to cook the jam). I noticed a few pit fragments, so it’s always a good idea to check the fruit!
Pomona’s original recipe also had an extra step that I feel can be skipped. After cooking the cherries and chocolate, they say to measure 4 cups of the cooked mixture out (saving the extra for another use). Then they returned the 4 cups of mixture to the pot and cook with their spices, lemon juice, and calcium water. The first time I made this recipe, my four 10-oz bags of frozen cherries ended up being precisely 4 cups of mixture. So the next time I made it, I skipped this step completely (but I had more than 4 cups of jam). So the yield will vary some, but the end result for the jam is about the same even if you have over 4 cups of mixture.
* Make sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder with no other added ingredients as noted in the recipe. There are different types of cocoa powder available such as Dutch Processed cocoa. That variety is less acidic, so it could affect the safety of the final product.
To make calcium water: In a small, clean jar with a lid, measure ½ cup cold water. Next, measure a ½ teaspoon of calcium powder (the powder is inside the box of Pomona’s Pectin) and place in the jar. Close the lid on the jar and shake well. Any unused calcium water can be stored in the refrigerator for your next canning project.
Place the canning rack in the bottom of a boiling water canner, then place empty jars on the rack. Add water to the jars and the canner until the jars are about two-thirds full. Cover the canner and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
Slice the frozen cherries in half. Remove any stray pit fragments.
Combine the cherries, cocoa powder, and 1/2 cup of water in a medium pot. I used frozen cherries that were not thawed, but you could thaw first if you want. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and 3 teaspoons calcium water to the mixture. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine sugar and Pomona’s Pectin powder. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Bring cherry mixture to a full boil over high heat. Slowly add the pectin-sugar mixture. Stir vigorously 1-2 minutes to dissolve pectin while mixture returns to a full boil. Once the mixture returns to a full boil, remove the pot from the heat.
Remove hot jars from the canner. Empty the water from the jars, but do not dry. Carefully ladle jam into the hot jars. Leave ¼ inch (.635 cm) headspace. Use a wooden skewer to remove any air pockets. Readjust headspace if needed. Wipe jar rims and threads with a moistened towel. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands to finger-tip tight.
Place jars onto a rack in the canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Cover with a lid, and bring water to a boil. Once boiling, process jam for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude* if needed. Turn off heat and let jars sit in the canner for an additional 5 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely.
Our Custom Apothecary Cherry Labels are perfect for labeling this jam.
Let prepared jars stand at room temperature for 12-24 hours. After the jars cool, check seals by pressing the centers of lids with your finger. If the lid springs back, the lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.
Affix CanningCrafts’ labels and write dates on jars. Store unopened sauce in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.
*Altitude
Living at a higher altitude affects home canning recipes, just as it does baking recipes. Many people are unaware that they live at a high altitude. If you live at a high altitude, you’ll need to increase either your processing time or processing pressure. Most canning recipes state this info for elevations of 0 to 1,000 feet above sea level. If you aren’t sure what your elevation is, get more info from the National Center for Food Preservation. Or call your local extension office if unsure.
Want more low-sugar jam recipes?
Try our low sugar Honey Pear Jam canning recipe that also uses Pomona’s Pectin.
Follow our We're Jammin' Pinterest Board for more jam recipes
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