Cherry Paste.
Ingredients
Directions
Make the fruit paste
Boil the stoned cherries gently in their own juice for 30 minutes.
Press the mixture through a sieve to remove solids.
Reduce the liquid to a very dry paste over moderate heat.
Cook with the sugar
Weigh the paste and boil an equal amount of sugar to the candying point.
Mix the fruit paste with the sugar and stir continuously over moderate heat.
Continue stirring until the mixture is dry enough to form a ball around a spoon and separates from the pan.
Set and store
Quickly press the paste into small molds and let it cool.
Once cool, wrap in paper and store like other preserves.
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 flavour and, once reduced, the bulk of the paste.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the paste and, when cooked down, helps it set firm and hold its shape.
The step that matters
Continue stirring until the mixture is dry enough to form a ball around a spoon. Sugar and fruit paste can scorch or stick if left unattended, and the mixture must be cooked until most water has evaporated so it sets firm rather than sticky when cooled. Stirring continuously over moderate heat keeps it even and prevents burning.
“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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