These are sweet syrupy jewels in a brilliant, naturally coloured syrup.

This is not a thick cherry sauce.  There is no cornstarch or other thickener.

As the cherries are cooked, the juices are released and then reduced, as thick as you would like and the cherries get cooked.  The longer you cook them, the more concentrated it all gets.  

Not ever like raisins, they don’t get hard, they aren’t dried.

Chocolate Panna Cotta with Cherry Sauce. (click on image to view recipe)

Why cook cherries?

Cherries, I would say, do not need any help.  I like cherry pie, but usually sour cherries are used, not the regular larger eating cherries.

Cherries, at their peak are best as is, for sure. Nothing taken, nothing added.

Sometimes though, late in the season, when you know it’s a bit late for cherries but you see them and think you’ll buy them one last time, they have lost their sweetness.  

Cook them down and serve the syrupy cherries over ice cream.  You don’t need much, just a drizzle.  Or over cheesecake or on the side of a simple chocolate cake.

Or serve the syrup on ice and pour sparkling water over and drop in a cherry.  You adults could also add Prosecco or sparkling water and vodka, or a light acidic white wine.

Cherry Sauce Drink
cherry sauce with sparkling water

Cherry sauce with sparkling water, and a cherry

cherry sauce spritzer

Cherry spritzer

I also like to cook them down until they shrivel up, lay them out on parchment to cool a bit, freeze or refrigerate.  Then I can slice them and put them in scones, pound cake, or other baking.

That would be my second favourite way to have cherries.

Cherries candied

If you don’t have a cherry pitter, just cut them in half and remove the seed.  You may want to wear food grade gloves.  It doesn’t take any longer than using a cherry pitter.  

Keep track of the pits!

Fresh Cherries
Half the cherry and remove the pit

Cut cherries in half and remove the pits

pit the cherries in a bag

Use a cherry pitter in a bag, paper towel, or in the sink

How to Make a Versatile  Cherry Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Printable version below

Makes about 2 cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: About 40 minutes, depending on how much you reduce the sauce.

  • 590g cherries, about 4 cups, I suggest organic for thin skinned fruit
  • 1¾ cups (425mL) water
  • 1¼ cups (260g) sugar
  • 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
cherry sauce ingredients

1. Wash, stem and pit the cherries.

2. Put the pitted cherries in a medium saucepan. 

3. Add the water and the sugar.

4. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for about 40 minutes. The less time, the more plump your cherries will remain.  

5. Skim off foam that will appear at the beginning. This will give you a clearer sauce.

Stir occasionally, but hardly necessary.

Pitted cherries
Add water and sugar to the cherries
Simmer and skim
Simmer cherry sauce to desired consistency

6. Add the lemon juice. This will help to keep the colour and add a nice bit of tartness instead of just a sweet sauce that can be a bit cloying. Unless you have used sour cherries.

The longer you cook the cherries, the less plump they will be.

Add lemon juice to the cherry sauce
Plump cherries in sauce

Removing cherries while on the plump side

cherries cooked longer in sauce

Removing cherries after longer simmering

7. Remove the cherries before they shrivel up more than you would like them to be, and put them aside.

8. Then boil the syrup down a bit longer to desired consistency, and either serve it with the cherries, or use it to flavour things.

If you cook them even longer the cherries will shrivel up more and the sauce will concentrate more.  Lay the cherries out on foil or parchment and use them in baked goods and save the sauce for other things.

This will keep for at least two weeks if refrigerated. You could also freeze it to keep longer.

Strain the cherry sauce
Cherries Sauce reduced

Cherry Sauce or Candied Cherries

This is a very versatile cherry sauce. This is not a thick cherry sauce.  There is no cornstarch or other thickener.

  Prep Time: 20 minutes

  Cook Time: 40 minutes

  Makes: about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

  • 590g cherries, about 4 cups, I suggest organic for thin skinned fruit

  • 1¾ cups (425mL) water

  • 1¼ cups (260g) sugar

  • 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Wash, stem and pit the cherries.
  2. Put the pitted cherries in a medium saucepan. 
  3. Add the water and the sugar.
  4. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 40 minutes. The less time, the more plump your cherries will remain.  
  5. Skim off foam that will appear at the beginning. This will give you a clearer sauce.  Stir occasionally, but hardly necessary.
  6. Add the lemon juice. This will help to keep the colour and add a nice bit of tartness instead of just a sweet sauce that can be a bit cloying. Unless you have used sour cherries.
  7. Remove the cherries before they shrivel up more than you would like them to be, and put them aside.  The longer you cook the cherries, the less plump they will be.
  8. Then boil the syrup down a bit longer to desired consistency, and either serve it with the cherries, or use it to flavour things.

If you cook them even longer the cherries will shrivel up more and the sauce will concentrate more.  Lay the cherries out on foil or parchment and use them in baked goods and save the sauce for other things.

This will keep for at least two weeks if refrigerated. You could also freeze it to keep longer.