Cherry Pie Filling - cooking recipe

Ingredients

7 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
14 drops almond extract
9 lbs sour pitted cherries
1 cup quick-cooking tapioca
7 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
red food coloring

Preparation

Blend the sugar, salt, and tapioca together.
Add almond extract and water.
Cook on medium high heat until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.
Add lemon juice and cook an additional two minutes.
Add the cherries to the sauce, stirring gently to keep from breaking the cherries up.
Add enough food coloring to make the mixture a bright red.
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute.
Ladle the mixture into hot, sterile jars.
Leave 1/2 inch headspace.
Seal the jars.
Process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes.
Remove from water bath and place on kitchen towels on counter top to cool.
When you're sure the jar is sealed, tighten the rings.
If a jar doesn't seal properly, pour the pie filling into another sterile jar.
Make sure the rim is clean before putting the lid on and reprocess.
Or you could pour the pie filling into a freezer container and put in your freezer.