Cherries in vinegar
A French accompaniment to pâtés, terrines and charcuterie, served alongside cornichons. Firm cherries with their stems, covered in white wine vinegar with sugar, cloves, pepper and tarragon, which after a month in the jar turn sweet-sour, spicy and refreshing. They balance the richness of pâté and game much as cranberry sauce does, but with a sharper, more vinegary flavour. A jar takes half an hour — then you just wait four weeks in the fridge for the cherries to take on the brine.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Preparing the cherries 20 min
- Vinegar brine 10 min
- Filling the jar 10 min
- Cooling 60 min
- Maturing 43200 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneChoose the cherries
Choose firm cherries without spots or splits, ideally slightly underripe — soft ones fall apart in vinegar.
Ingredients: 500 g firm dark cherries with stems · 1 pcs tarragon sprig
Trim the stems
Wash the cherries and trim the stems with scissors to about 1 cm — do not pull them out, or the fruit leaks juice through the torn skin and softens. Dry thoroughly on a cloth.
Ingredients: 500 g firm dark cherries with stems · 1 pcs tarragon sprig
Stems trimmed, not pulled — the fruit stays firm.Boil the brine
Bring the vinegar to the boil with the sugar, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf and boil 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves.
Ingredients: 400 ml white wine vinegar, 6% · 120 g sugar · 3 pcs cloves · 1 tsp black peppercorns · 1 pcs bay leaf
Spiced vinegar — two minutes is enough.Fill the jar
Pack the cherries tightly into a scalded jar of about 1 litre and tuck the tarragon sprig in among them.
Ingredients: 500 g firm dark cherries with stems · 1 pcs tarragon sprig
Pour over the hot brine
Pour the hot brine with its spices over the cherries so they are completely covered, and close the jar at once.
Ingredients: 400 ml white wine vinegar, 6% · 120 g sugar · 3 pcs cloves · 1 tsp black peppercorns · 1 pcs bay leaf
Fully under the brine — close it straight away.Cool
Cool the jar at room temperature, about an hour.
Ingredients: 500 g firm dark cherries with stems · 1 pcs tarragon sprig
Leave for a month
Put the jar in the fridge for 4 weeks. In that time the cherries absorb the brine and take on the spices.
Ingredients: 500 g firm dark cherries with stems · 1 pcs tarragon sprig
Serve with pâté
Serve the cherries alongside pâté, terrine, smoked duck, game and cheese. They are eaten held by the stem — warn your guests about the stones. Take them out of the jar with a clean spoon.
Ingredients: 500 g firm dark cherries with stems · 1 pcs tarragon sprig
Before you start
Storage
The brine is very acidic, but a jar filled with hot vinegar is not pasteurised and in the pantry it could go mouldy or start to ferment. So keep it in the fridge — up to 6 months, with the cherries always under the brine. If you prefer the pantry, pasteurise the jar straight after closing it for 15 minutes in a pan of hot water reaching ¾ of the way up. A sealed jar then keeps somewhere cool and dark for up to 6 months; once opened, keep it in the fridge. The cherries will be slightly softer.
With sour cherries
Sour cherries are pickled the same way and give a sharper, more intense flavour. Trim the stems the same way, to about 1 cm.
The brine
Once the cherries are gone, keep the brine — it is an excellent fruity vinegar for vinaigrettes and dressings for salads with duck or liver.