Name: Spicy pickled cherries
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 85 g (3 oz) honey; 1 dried Thai chilli or 2 pinches of chilli flakes; 5 cloves; 50 g (1¾ oz) granulated sugar; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt; 5 cm (2 inches) fresh ginger, thinly sliced; 10 black peppercorns; 120 ml (½ cup) rice vinegar; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) ripe cherries

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Whisper of Cardamom

By Eleanor Ford

Published 2024

About

Pickling fruit intensifies it, making it sweeter, sharper, juicier. These cherries are spicy to boot. It is also the quickest dessert imaginable to prepare (though you need to do so a day or two in advance). They are especially good with vanilla ice cream and also work alongside soft cheeses.

Ingredients

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) ripe cherries
120

Method

You can remove the cherry stones if you wish, but they look rather pretty whole with the stems on. In this case, prick each with a skewer first. Pack into a bowl or jar.

In a small pan, combine the vinegar, honey, sugar, salt, ginger, peppercorns, cloves and chilli. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved.

Pour the hot brine along with the spices over the cherries, cool to room tem