Bottling Cherries

Bottling Cherries is so simple and when you have a glut it's the time to take advantage of this fruit.  Cherries are a rich source of antioxidants.  Queritrin, a flavanoid is rich in cherries and said to be anti cancerous.  Rich also in Melatonin, an antioxidant that has been found to help the bodies natural sleep pattern.  So why not try a glass of natural cherry juice before going to bed.  I also keep the cherry stalks and dry them in the sun to make a tisane, something my husband told me about.  Said to be good for helping the kidneys eliminate water from the body.  Incidentally they are sold in supermarkets in France.

Bottling cherries whole

Fill sterilise jars with cherries,  I don't stone them, as I think it damages the fruit too much.  I stone them later on when I use them, the stones also come out easier after they have been conserved. Push them down in the jars a little.  Next make a light syrup with 1 litre of water and a 150g of sugar dissolved in it. Fill jars with cool syrup, leaving a 1 cm gap at the top.  Don't screw lids on too tight, as the air has to escape.  Of course, this depends on what type of jar you use.  Put into tall saucepan and fill with water, covering jars by 4 cm.  Put on the heat and bring slowly up to 80°c, taking about 45 minutes.  Then maintain this for 10 minutes.  Don't let jars cool in the water.  Lift them out, being careful not to touch the lids.  As they cool, the lids will become concave, if they don't repeat the process.

Cherry syrup

I put about 9 kg of slightly tart, unstoned cherries in a saucepan, I then added about 30g - 40g of sugar for each kg of cherries.  Bring up to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Tip into colander and squash the cherries with a masher or put into chinois.  Pour into sterilised bottles, store in fridge and use within 2 weeks.  Dilute with still or fizzy water or why not make a cherry cola.