To Preserve Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cherries
Weigh the cherries and use an equal amount of sugar.
Stone the cherries using a sharp quill and save the juice.
Place the stoned cherries in a large pan and sprinkle half the sugar over them.
Let them sit for 1-2 hours.
Cook the preserves
Transfer the cherries and remaining sugar to a preserving kettle.
Boil and skim until the fruit is clear and the syrup thick.
Pour in the reserved cherry juice and mix well.
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
- Morella cherries
- Provide the fruit, flavour and pectin-bearing body that the preserve is built around.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, as it dissolves and boils, thickens the syrup and helps preserve the fruit.
The step that matters
Boil and skim until the fruit is clear and the syrup thick. Sugar must be fully dissolved and the mixture boiled long enough to reach the setting point; too little boiling leaves a runny preserve, while overcooking can darken and toughen the fruit. Skimming removes foam that would cloud the preserve.
“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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