The Diva That Made Pickled Cherries
Gotta love cherry season! There’s nothing like munching on a big bowl of those fresh beauties!
I had a cherry-based dessert at Gotham Bar & Grill recently. I remember thinking that it would have been better with sour cherries because sweet cherries lack the deep cherry flavor and tang that I love.
That got me thinking about adding the tang back into sweet cherries. Pickling them seemed a natural progression. I’ve never pickled sweet fruits before, but these pickled cherries are brilliant on a cheese platter or with some cured meats or pate. My tummy is a-rumbling.
I decided on cardamom as the predominant spice for this recipe with some black pepper to add a li’l bite, as well other sweet spice accents and vanilla for depth. What’s cool about this recipe is you don’t have to pit the cherries—YES = less work! I’m all about recipes that are easy!!
Sweet Spiced Pickled Cherries
Ingredients
- 40 ounces of cherries, stemmed and each poked a few times with a fork (NO PITTING = YAY!!!)
- Brine1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Bay leaves (one for each jar)
- 1 teaspoon allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon black pepper corns
- 2 cloves
- 20 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 12 ounces of sugar
- 24 ounces of apple cider vinegar
Directions
- Make brine by bringing ingredients to a gentle boil and stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Sterilize jars and cool slightly.
- Strain brine, reserving all the spices except the cloves. Divide remaining spices in each jar. Break up the cinnamon stick.
- Add cherries to jars. Put hot brine over cherries. If you don’t have enough brine top of jars with a little more vinegar.
- Place flat lids on each jar. Screw on bands to seal but don’t over tighten them.
- Arrange jars right side up in a canner and add water so it’s at least one inch above the jars. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for ten minutes.
- Cool jars on rack. Store in cool place for at least 3 weeks before eating.
Notes
The proportion of cherries to brine is 10 ounces of cherries in pint sized jar with 6 ounces of brine.