Preserved Cherries In Red Wine Syrup

These delightfully sweet and boozy cherries are preserved in a red wine syrup that makes them just perfect for adding to simple vanilla ice-cream as the perfect quick and easy dessert.

It’s cherry season again and that means making full use of these delicious fruits and preserving them in any way possible to enjoy at a later daye.

Why this recipe works

• These preserved cherries have only 5 ingredients!
• It’s a super easy recipe to make
• Preserving cherries like this will keep those little beauties for up to a year.
• It’s the perfect foodie gift for any time of year – like giving someone summer in a jar.

Ingredients for cherries in wine

• Cherries – nice ripe cherries you don’t want any that are either hard and not quite ripe or those squishy cherries that are over ripe
• Red wine – go for a red wine you’d be happy to drink. Don’t buy nasty cheap wine to preserve your cherries, give them some quality flavour to soak up
• Sugar – just normal white sugar either caster sugar or granulated sugar. Avoid brown sugar as you don’t want the stronger caramelised flavour that it has
• Vanilla – I used a vanilla pod here, it adds a lovely warmth to your preserved cherries
• Kirsch – this is a cherry infused hooch that is used a lot in baking and desserts – check out my recipe for Homemade Kirsch – it has only 2 ingredients!

Can you use frozen cherries?

Yes, you can use frozen cherries to make this preserved cherries in red wine recipe. Just defrost thoroughly in a colander over a bowl so any water drains away.

How to make this recipe

Preserved cherries in wine are super easy to make. It is way easier than jam making. So grab those cherries and let’s get started!

• First things first, remove the stones/pits from your cherries. Some people like to keep the cherry stones in there as they do add to the flavour. However, I value my teeth (and those of my friends and family) too much to risk biting down on a cherry stone. And just think of the dentist bill!
• Heat the cherries along with the red wine, kirsch, syugar and vanilla pod on a gentle heat till the sugar has completely dissolved.
• Then raise the heat and bring the cherry mixture to a boil. Now lower the heat and just let this simmer for 10 minutes.
• Scoop the cherries and the red wine syrup into a sterilised jar.

How to stone cherries

You can either use a cherry stoner as I have or you can use the bottle and straw gtrick. Simple place a cherry in the mouth of a bottle with the stalk end at the top. Now press down on the cherry with a drinking straw and the stone/pit will pop out and land in the bottle!

Save your cherry stones to make homemade kirsch.

How long will preserved cherries last?

These cherries in red wine will keep for 3-6 months as they are in a cool dark cupboard. Once opened store them in the fridge and use the preserved cherries within a month.

Can you can preserved cherries?

Yes you can! This will make your preserved cherries keep for up to a year so it’s a simple step that is well worth taking.

How to can preserved cherries

Make sure that your cherries in wine don’t fill the jars to the top, leave a 2.5cm headspace to allow for expansion.

Now simply pop the jar of cherries into a large pan with enough water to completely cover the jar. Bring the water to a boil and boiol for 20 minutes.

Check the seal on the jars after 24 hours. If they are totally sealed then your preserved cherries will keep for up to a year.

If the seal hasn’t worked then just store them as I’ve stated above and use within 3-6 months.

Serving suggestions

You can serve your preserved cherries as a topping for a really good quality vanilla ice-cream. This makes a super quick and tasty pudding for the grownups.

Make your own cherry dessert by layering crushed Italian Amaretti biscuits in a glass with whipped Greek yogurt (here’s how to make your own Greek style yogurt). Swirling through some of the cherry wine syrup and topping with more crumbled biscuits and the preserved cherries themselves.

Cocktails – Add a few preserved cherries to the bottom of a flute glass with some of the liquid and top with Prosecco or bubbles of your choice.

Add a small bowl of these delicious cherries to a cheeseboard for a touch of fruity sweetness.

Looking for more fabulous cherry recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Spanish style spiced cherry cheese

How to make homemade Kirsch

Traditional French cherry clafoutis

Simple cherry curd

How to make homemade cherry brandy

French style cherry conserve

Spiced cherry gin liqueur

Spanish style pickled cherries

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.