Sun-preserved Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine sugar and water in a pot to make a syrup.
Add the fruit and bring to a boil twice.
Dry in the sun
Pour the preserves into platters and cover with a pane of glass.
Place the platters in the sun and repeat this process for several days until the mixture thickens enough to store in jars.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, as water evaporates, concentrates the mixture so it thickens and keeps.
- Fruit
- Provides the main flavor and body of the preserves.
The step that matters
Drying in the sun until thick. Evaporation over several days concentrates the sugar and fruit, which thickens the mixture and lowers the water available to spoilage microbes. Storing it before it has thickened enough leaves more water in the preserves, so they are more likely to spoil.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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