Wash the cherries and pat dry or air dry.
Remove the pits from each cherry. If you press on them lightly the pits should pop from the stem end.
Mix the sugar with the cherries and leave overnight. Moisture will come out of the cherries.
Put the cherries with the liquid and all in a pan, and cook over medium-high heat. Add the lemon juice.
Remove the scum. Since we want the preserves to be bright red when done, just simmer for up to 20 minutes.
Pour into jars while still hot. I use a large funnel.
Fill the jars up to the brim. Screw on the lids right away, and then turn the jars upside down. The lids will become sterilized due to the heat of of the preserves, so you can store it for a long time.
Done. If you want this to have a jam-like thick texture, add pectin when you simmer it.
Use it on bread, mix into yogurt, etc. Here I have used it as a topping on milk custard pudding.
Fig preserves (fig jam) is made with the same ratio of fruit to sugar.
Spoon a generous portion over pancakes.
