Sweet Pickled Cherries

These sweet pickled cherries look fancy, but they're surprisingly easy to make. With vanilla, orange peel, and warming spices, they're perfect for cheeseboards, charcuterie boards, gifting, and serving alongside fresh sourdough.

Course Appetizer, Condiment

Cuisine American

Keyword Condiment

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1 25

Servings servings

Calories 26kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Equipment

Small Heavy Based Saucepan
Stainless Steel Ladle
Jar for Storage

Ingredients

100 g White Wine Vinegar
15 g Balsamic Vinegar
50 g Water
60 g Sugar
2 g Salt
½ Vanilla Bean cut crosswise or 6.5g vanilla extract
1 Star Anise
2 Cardamom Pods
1 Clove
1 Cinnamon Stick
200 g Cherries stems removed
Orange Peel

Instructions

Combine the vinegars, water, sugar, salt, vanilla bean, star anise, cardamom, clove and cinnamon stick and orange peel into a small sauce pot.
Note: If using vanilla extract, you’ll want to add it in after the vinegar has been turned off the heat so you don’t cook out the flavor.
Cook on medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is just beginning to bubble, about7–10 min, stirring a few times. Turn the heat off and let the mixture cool down slightly, 5 minutes off heat. The mixture doesn’t need to be room temp and can still be hot, just not piping hot. If using half a vanilla bean, take it out and pinch the stem end running your pinched fingers down the vanilla pod squeezing out the inside beans into the mixture.
Place half your de-stemmed cherries into your jar. Then add your mulled spices and top with the remaining half of the cherries. Carefully ladle the warm pickle mixture into your jar, filling it to the brim. Close the lid and pickle in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours or up to five days.

Notes

I prefer to keep the pits in my cherries because I like that the fruit stayed firmer a bit longer. When the pits were removed, the cherries became a bit softer.
Don’t be afraid to taste your brine. Give it about 3 minutes on the heat and carefully taste the liquid. From there you can adjust to your liking. If it’s too acidic, add a bit more water and sugar. Are you tasting one spice more than the rest? Remove that spice and add more of the others. The halfway point is a great time to make any subtle adjustments so the brine flavor is just right!
Give the cherries time to soak up the flavors. It’s tempting to eat them straight away but they need at least 24 hours to absorb some of the briny flavor! The longer they sit in the brine, the more flavor they will take on.

Nutrition