Today should have been a simple case of jam-making using the Black Cherries my cousin bought down last month. I've never had any problem cooking damsons, Morello cherries or wild plums from frozen; it's just a matter of skimming off the stones as they rise to the surface of the bubbling mixture...perhaps an extra hour's work ( no wonder you never see those jams made commercially!). Anyway, these black cherry stones were tenacious little blighters who didn't want to leave the lush cocoon of the mother fruit. Four hours it took me, of mashing and sieving to end up with what I can only call 'jam' and not 'conserve' ( that's jam with big lumps of fruit in). Oh, and another half hour to clean up all the mess I'd made.

Moral of the story....de-stone before freezing!