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Dessert

Common Cherry Cheese

A cheese-like paste made from cherries and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Common Cherry Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Stone the cherries.

  2. Boil the cherries gently in their own juice for 20 to 30 minutes until tender.

  3. Press the mixture through a sieve to remove any solids.

  4. Weigh the pulp.

Make the cheese

  1. Boil the pulp quickly until it forms a dry paste.

  2. Add 12 ounces of sugar for every 2 pounds of fruit. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

  3. Return the pan to a brisk fire.

  4. Stir continuously until the mixture is dry and does not stick to your finger.

  5. Press the mixture into small molds.

  6. Let the mixture cool before removing.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Cherries
Provide the fruit pulp that becomes the body and flavor of the cheese.
Sugar
Sweetens the cherry pulp and helps it set into a firm, sliceable paste as moisture evaporates.

The step that matters

Stirring the mixture until it is dry. Sugar and fruit pulp thicken as water evaporates and sugar concentrates. If the mixture is pulled off the heat too early it stays soft, and if it is overcooked it can scorch on the bottom of the pan. Continuous stirring keeps the heat even and the paste from sticking.

“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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