Acerola

My Acerola tree is full of flowers and the cherries are so large and unblemished. 

Every Acerola cherry is perfect and sweet, plus Guava are starting to ripen. This season the Guava are so sweet. 
 

Acerola Jam

I had a handful of Acerola Cherries and decided to make jam. I did not add as much sugar as I normally do, but it is still sweet. The cherries I had made two 4 once jars of jam.

Acerola Tree

I found one Acerola flower. In my region, Acerola start to bloom in late March. They are typically in full bloom by mid-April and start to produce fruit from May through September.  

Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry) Blossoms

My Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry) tree is starting to blossom a little early. Typically it starts blossoming in March and is in full bloom by 1 April. Acerola can blossom and produce fruit 3-5 times a year.  

Acerola (Jam)

Yep! Made Acerola jam again and this time preserved some. The cherries were plump and flawless. This is the first time preserving, so got caught up in the process and forgot to take pictures.  

Started with 840 grams (1.85 lbs) of cherries and after removing the seeds, got 506 grams (1.1 lbs) of pulp.

Was able to create three 4 oz (118 ml)  jars a Acerola jam.

Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry)

I covered my entire Acerola tree with a net and now getting some pretty nice cherries. I still have problems with ants, snails and the like, but not as damaging as the birds.

Acerola Cherry Jam

I picked all the Acerola cherries I could about two weeks ago and let them ripen to make jam. The first step is to remove all the stems using a tooth pick and wash the cherries well. 

After I rinse them I typically weigh them. This is not necessary, but just for my curiosity. 

The next step is to squeeze each cherry and remove the seeds. There are typically 3-4 seeds in each cherry. If you wish a smoother jam, blend the pulp. It is very important to weigh the pulp. This will determine how much sugar and pectin to add. Add 45% sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of pectin per cup of pulp.

    354 grams pulp x 45% = 159 grams white granulated sugar

    354 grams pulp / 250 grams (1 cup) = 1.5 teaspoons Pectin   

Add the pulp, sugar, 100 cc of water and 1 tablespoon of vanilla to a pan and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the desired thickness is reached. Wait to add the Pectin or follow the instructions on the package.

After the desire consistency is achieved, add the Pectin to a few tablespoons of water and add it to the mix and cook a little longer until it thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.

Lastly, pour the jam in a sterile jar and refrigerate. The last time I made Acerola jam I used brown sugar and the jam was brownish. It tastes fine, but color is important.

Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry) Tree

I got over 1kg (2.2 lbs) of Acerola cherries so far this year and now the tree is blooming again. This tree typically blooms 3-4 times each year. 

 

Today's Harvest

Today I got my first Okra and Cherry Tomato, plus another handful of Beans.

I try and pick Acerola Cherries as soon as they start to turn red. I would like to leave them on longer so they could get larger, but pests tend to damage them. This cherry was pecked at by birds.

I pulled this Carrot a few days ago. I still have a few Carrots in the ground that will last a month or two, but should plant more.

Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry) Tree

I picked Acerola cherries yesterday and got 640 grams (1.4 lbs). There are so many pests (birds, caterpillars, snails) that can damage the cherries; therefore, I typically pick them as soon as they start to turn red and allow them to ripen on a window seal. Additionally, Acerola falls off easily. So if there are strong winds, like we have here, it is best to pick them a little early. 

Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry) Tree

My Acerola Cherry (Barbados Cherry) tree started to bloom. 

 

Acerola Cherry Jam

(11/21) I started off with about 1kg (2.2lbs) of fresh Acerola Cherries.

Remove the stems and seeds. The result was 365g (13oz) of pulp. It is important to know how much pulp and juice there is to determine how much sugar to add. 

Boil the Acerola seeds, along with Apple skin and cores, to extract the natural Pectin, which is used to help the jam set. 

Mixed about 150 cc of water to the pulp (365g) and boiled it on medium heat for about 5 minutes and then put the mix in a blender to make it smooth. Be careful not to mix it to much or it will get foamy. You can still use it, but it will take longer to get the foam to settle down.

Place the mix from the blender back in the pan and add sugar (120g or 40% the weight of the pulp, 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract and using a strainer add the Pectin. 

Cook the mix on low heat until it gets to a consistency you desire. Some people use a metal tray that was placed in the freezer to determine consistency. Place a little jam on the tray and if it slides a little it is ready. 

This is what the jam looks like if it is not blended.

This is jam that has been blended.

Both are delicious. Let is cool, cap it and place it in the refrigerator. 

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

(11/20) Got a handful of Acerola Cherries today.

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

(10/20) Today I got a lot of large plump Acerola cherries.

Full of red ripe Acerola cherries.

 

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

I picked these Acerola Cherries yesterday. I am picking them a little young because the Mealybug has attacked this tree and will damage the fruit if left to mature.

 This is today's harvest (8/19).

Today's Harvest (1 August)

Still getting a handful of Acerola Cherries nearly everyday.

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

(7/22) Though my Acerola tree is winding down fruit production, I am still getting a handful every few days.

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

(6/11) Acerola Cherries grow and ripen quickly. Within just one day, the cherries started to turn red, so I decided to pick the red ones. There is still a ton on the tree. 

These are some large Acerola Cherries.

The Tree is full of Cherries.

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

(6/10) My Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry) is full of fruit this year and they are much larger than last year. I covered the bush/tree with a net to keep the birds away, so if I can keep the insects off them, I should be able to get a huge harvest in hopes of making some jam. 

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

It is early November and my Acerola tree is flowering again, plus there is still some cherries ripening.