pickled cherries

skye gyngell’s second book is arranged around her favourite ingredients, one of which are cherries. the recipe which really stood out for me, not least as it will help make my precious cherry bounty last beyond the summer, was for pickled cherries.

apparently these can be made with sour morello cherries but i just used normal eating ones, choosing those which were attached to each other in pairs or even trios, so they will look especially pretty when we get chance to eat them.

apparently they will last for up to a year and most of the recipe ideas skye shares feature autumnal or winter produce (game, bitter leaves, fresh walnuts) but i think i’ll be trying them much sooner…

skye gyngell’s pickled cherries (makes 2-3 500ml jars)

700g sugar

800ml good-quality red-wine vinegar (i used a mix of red wine vinegar and cider vinegar as i didn’t have enough of either)

12 cloves

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1kg ripe cherries

discard any blemished fruit but leave the stems on as they look really pretty. dissolve the sugar in the vinegar over a low heat in a large saucepan then add the cloves and the peppercorns. turn up the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. pack the cherries loosely into sterilised jars and pour the pickling liquid over. seal tightly and let sit for a couple of weeks in a cool dark cupboard before refrigerating. they will keep in the fridge for up to a year.