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Preserving the harvest

Cherries in syrup

A jar of cherries opened in December is June come round again. The waxy red of the fruit, the clear syrup glimpsed, and the sound of the metal being unlatched, so many promises.

One of the simplest and most beautiful fruit preserves. You sterilise whole cherries in a light syrup, the heat kills every micro-organism and the lid creates an air vacuum that seals the jar for a year. On opening, the fruit is intact, the syrup fragrant: use it for desserts, coulis, or simply by the spoonful.

Ingredients

  • Ripe, firm, healthy cherries

    Burlat, Bigarreau, Reverchon, or tart morellos

    500 g
  • Caster sugar

    double to 250 g for tart morellos

    125 g
  • Water
    60 cl
  • Cinnamon or vanilla stick (optional)
    1 piece of 5 cm

Equipment

  • •2 Le Parfait rubber-seal jars of 500 ml
  • •1 large tall pot
  • •1 clean cloth
  • •1 cherry-pitter (optional, you can also keep the stones for more flavour)

Steps

  1. 1

    Choose and prepare the cherries

    Keep the stalk or remove it to your taste. You can pit them (cherries easier to eat) or keep the stones (an almond scent over time, classic of traditional cherries in syrup). Wash them quickly and wipe them.

    15 min

  2. 2

    Sterilise the jars

    Wash jars, seals, lids in hot soapy water. Scald 10 min or put the jars in the oven at 100 °C for 10 min. Leave the lids in hot water until use.

    20 min

  3. 3

    Prepare the syrup

    In a pan, mix the water and sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar well. Add the cinnamon or vanilla if using. Let it boil 2-3 min, then remove from the heat and let it cool.

    15 min

  4. 4

    Fill the jars

    Gently pack the cherries into the jars without damaging them, to 2 cm from the rim. Pour the cooled syrup to completely cover them (leave 1 cm of space at the top). Check for the absence of air bubbles trapped between the cherries (by tapping the jar gently). Close airtight.

    15 min

  5. 5

    Sterilise in a water bath

    Place a cloth at the bottom of the pot. Place the jars, cover them entirely with water (2-3 cm above the lids). Cover, bring SLOWLY to the boil (1h30 minimum, so the jars don't break), then keep a FULL BOIL (large bubbles, 100 °C) for at least 25 minutes, never a mere lukewarm plateau, which does not sterilise. Turn off the heat and let the jars cool in the water.

    1h30 + 25 min boiling

  6. 6

    Check the seal

    Once the jars have cooled, unlatch the lid (without removing it). If it stays hermetically closed under the vacuum, it's perfect, the jar will keep for a year. Otherwise, eat within the following days, kept cool.

    5 min

Storage

1 year in a cool, dry, dark cupboard. Once opened: 1 week in the fridge.

How to use it

By the spoonful, on a yogurt, a fromage blanc, vanilla ice cream (very classic). As a topping for a tart or clafoutis out of season. The syrup alone makes a delicious cocktail diluted in sparkling water, or a kir with a little white wine.

Health properties

  • Anthocyanins of the cherry, partly preserved by the sterilisation
  • Melatonin naturally present in the cherry, in very small amounts (measured in the sour cherry)
  • Vitamin C partly preserved
  • The gustatory pleasure of an out-of-season fruit without recourse to imports

These preparations belong to cooking and herbal tradition: they nourish and support, do not “cure” anything and replace no treatment. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before prolonged use, if under treatment, pregnant or breastfeeding, or for a child. Follow the stated storage precautions strictly.

Precautions

The stones contain amygdalin, which slowly releases cyanide in jars kept for a very long time, that's what gives the characteristic almond scent. Totally harmless amounts in normal consumption, but do not eat 1 kg of stones at once. If you make jars for a very long duration (>2 years), pit them as a precaution. Concentrated sugar, to dose for diabetics. Rubber-seal jars essential.

Sources & tradition

  • · French tradition of fruit in jars (Bonne Maman, peasant recipes)
  • · L'autosuffisance, c'est possible ! (Cherche-Midi)
  • · Appertisation principle (Nicolas Appert); for acid fruits, water-bath canning at a full boil (home-preservation guides such as NCHFP / Le Parfait)
  • · Burkhardt et al. (2001), melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry)

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