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Cherries in Red Wine Syrup

I used bright-red sweet cherries, but feel free to mix in some of the multi-hued varieties, such as Queen Anne (incongruously called ‘Napoléon’ cherries in France) and Ranier. If you can get sour cherries, a mix of those with the sweet ones is cherry paradise.
  • 1 pound (450g) fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
  • 1/2 cup (130g) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups (310ml) red wine
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch or potato starch
  • 2 tablespoons red wine or 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • optional: 1/2 tablespoon kirsch
  • Put the cherries and sugar in a large, wide saucepan.
  • Mix one tablespoon of the red wine with the corn or potato starch in a small bowl until it’s dissolved and set aside.
  • Add the rest of the wine and the vinegar to the saucepan. Bring the heat up to a boil, then reduce the heat so it’s at a low boil and cook, stirring frequently, for about 12 minutes, until the cherries are completely wilted and softened through.
  • During the last moments of cooking, stir in the starch slurry and let the mixture boil the additional minute or so, to thicken the juices.
  • Turn off the heat and stir in the almond extract and kirsch, if using.

Notes

Storage: The cherries will keep up to one week in the refrigerator. They can be frozen for up to six months.