Pickled Cherries are an easy way to preserve tart or sweet cherries for the months to come! They make a zippy addition to any salad, chicken, pork, duck, or beef dish! And as an easy, delicious topping for tacos!
You didn’t think I would leave you hanging without a recipe for the Pickled Cherries in my Stone Fruit Caprese Panzanella Salad did you? Never.
I make fun of the guys at work that the savory cook’s answer to everything is either deep-fry it or pickle it. [Don’t worry they make fun of me for plenty of stuff…]
Yo, what would you do with fiddlehead ferns? Pickle them. [obvi]
Dilly Beans. [I’ll Google that later.]
Tart cherries? Pickle them of course. [But why when you could have pie!?]
But when you’ve already made (and eaten) all the pie…
There are but two things left!
Now my go-to preserving method is jam because I will eat jam on anything – it’s so versatile (cakes, blondies, frosting, salad dressing, yogurt, honey ricotta toast, bbq sauce, sandwiches, and on…). But I wanted to branch out – dip my toes into the acidic waters of pickling.
So I chose to pickle something sweet (teehee). I am who I am.
But these are sooooo goooood! Just a hint sweet with that pickled tang.
They add a little zip to your salad or savory dish (think chicken, duck, steak with a rich sauce). It cuts through the fattiness of a steak or duck and balances the flavors. It would make a bangin’ topping for tacos.
The opportunities are endless, guys! I wasn’t a line cook for nothin’ mmkay
But seriously, just go buy the last vestiges of an amazing cherry season and pickle them for later. When in a few months you’re over pumpkin spice and hankering for that siren call of summer, this will be a delicious, tangy addition to all the jams and jellies you put up.
Pickled Cherries
Ingredients
- 1 cup distilled vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- ½ lemon rind zest (in strips)
- 1 ½ cups sweet and tart cherries (pitted )
Instructions
- Clean and sanitize a 2 cup mason jar.
- Pour cherries and lemon rind into jar.
- Heat vinegar, sugar and all the spices a in a small pot just until it boils, stir to dissolve sugar.
- Pour vinegar over cherries. Be sure all the spices make it into the jar.
- Cool to room temperature then close with lid. Store in the refrigerator. Wait at least 3 days before eating for best flavor. Flavor and spices will continue to improve and intensify over time.
Thank you so much for your helpful shearing post!