Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Cherries..........

July 08, 2015

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Cherries..........

So many of you made fun of me and thought I was nuts when I made pickled grapes a few years back, but they turned out great!

Well these are just as good, trust me.

Thomas Keller serves them in his book Ad Hoc with pork loin, and I am sure they would be delicious with duck.....however, I am serving them with cheese and charcuterie.

Don't mind the pits, just think of them as olives, and provide a little bowl so your guests can dispose of the pits gracefully, without spitting.

I love these Rainier cherries from Washington State, they are so gorgeous, but you can pickle any cherry variety, such as Bing.

You can opt to sterilize the jars in a water bath if you like, this way you can keep the cherries, unopened for while....if no water bath, then you can keep them in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

It's almost the end of cherry season, so pickle some today, they were delicious.

Pickled Rainier Cherries: (adapted from REM Cooks and Thomas Keller AD HOC)

1 lb. Rainier cherries, washed, stems trimmed to 1/2" (leave the pits in)
1 cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
8 whole cloves

Clean and trim the stems on the cherries and fit them into two 8 oz. Ball canning jars with lids.

Fill the cherries into the clean jars.

In a heavy small saucepan, heat the vinegar, maple syrup and spices to a boil.

Strain the liquid thru a mesh sieve so the solids (spices) stay behind, and pour the vinegar solution over the 2 jars filled w/ the cherries.

Seal the lids tightly.

You can now let them cool or you can give the jars a water bath for longer shelf life.

Submerge the jars into a big pot of boiling water and boil the jars 12 minutes.