Andrew Stone - SLC Urban

We have probably been through 15 pounds of cherries this year and all of them were eaten straight from the bag.  While I love to put up food for later I have never been a big fan of canned cherries or cherry pie, so I never gave any thought to canning them, that was until I was thumbing through Chef Michael Symon’s book. Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen

Symon has a chapter on pickling and within that chapter was a recipe for pickled cherries.  I immediately knew what I was going to do with the next batch of cherries I purchased.  The thought of those cherries sounded like something I could buy into and was a wonderful way to preserve cherries for winter.  I can just imagine them accompanying a wonderful short-rib dish.

So I set to work assembling my ingredients and for the most part I had what I needed. I substituted and added a few of my own touches.  I do think they turned out pretty well.   The Recipe makes about 2 quarts and I doubled the recipe for the brine to ensure that I had enough liquid to submerge the cherries into two quart jars.

Ingredients: (remember to double all the ingredients below, except the cherries,  if you are going to preserve them beyond 30 days in the fridge)
2 pounds bing cherries
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler (I used grated orange peel)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns (skipped these, don’t know why, but I just didn’t like the sound of them)
2 cinnamon sticks and 2 cardamom pods (to replace the peppercorns and add a bit of a floral note)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 bay leaf

Instructions:
Prick each cherry with a fork several times and put them in a nonreactive jar or container.
Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, orange zest, black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, and bay leaf in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the liquid simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cook for 10 minutes. Pour the liquid over the cherries (they should be completely submerged).

When the concoction is completely cool, seal or cover the cherries, and refrigerate for up to 1 month. In my case I placed the cherries into two sterilized quart canning jars and poured the hot brine over the cherries.  I then sealed the jars and processed them for 30 minutes in a water bath.  Remember to adjust your water bath time based on your location above sea level.

(Adapted From Michael Symon’s Live to Cook)