Traditional Portuguese Sour-Cherry Preserve

Name: Traditional Portuguese Sour-Cherry Preserve
Yield: 3 small jars
Ingredients: 1 kg Ripe sour cherries; 700–800 g Sugar; 100 ml Water; 1 tbsp Lemon juice; 1, optional Cinnamon stick

Sour cherries are pitted and slowly cooked with sugar until the fruit is tender and the syrup reaches a jam-like set. The longest task is removing the stones without losing too much juice.

Yields: 3 small jars
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 35–50 min

Difficulty

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Ingredients

1 kg Ripe sour cherries
700–800 g Sugar
100 ml Water
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1, optional Cinnamon stick

Method

Wash and dry the sour cherries. Remove stems and stones over a bowl, retaining all the juice.
Layer the fruit and sugar in a wide pan. Add the reserved juice, water, lemon and cinnamon and rest for 30 minutes.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat and cook for 25 minutes, skimming off foam.
Cook uncovered for another 10–25 minutes. Crush only some fruit; a drop of syrup on a very cold plate should wrinkle slightly when pushed.
Remove the cinnamon, spoon into very clean jars, cool, cover and refrigerate.