Pickled cherries

I had pickled cherries recently at Cutler & Co and decided that with my new-found cherry supply, I’d make some of my own to have with cold meats over the summer.

This is a Stephanie Alexander recipe, altered slightly.

Ingredients
-1kg cherries, stem shortened to 1cm
-24 black peppercorns
-600ml white wine vinegar
-250ml white vinegar
-6 bay leaves
-700gm sugar
-1 clove garlic

-Put the vinegar in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar in it, over gentle heat. Add all the other spice ingredients, not the cherries, and simmer until fragrant, or around 10 minutes.
-While the syrup is cooling, take your jars and scrum then, then rinse carefully in boiling water. I do this by filling them with a freshly boiled kettle of water in the sink and then using tongs to carefully tip them out.
-Take your cherries and pack them tightly into the hot jars, using a tea towel to handle the jars. Pour the vinegar syrup into the jars.
-These guys should be done in a few weeks. Absolutely delicious in a leftovers sandwich and as you can see from the picture, the amazing iridescent colour makes this a beautiful gift.