Sweet-Cherry Spoon Sweet

Name: Sweet-Cherry Spoon Sweet
Total time: PT0D0H0M
Yield: makes 3 Cups
Ingredients: 2 lb. very firm sweet cherries such as rainier or royal ann, washed, stemmed, and stoned; 2 cups sugar; 1 ⁄ 4 cup fresh lemon juice; 1 red beet, washed, trimmed, and quartered; 2-3 tsp. vanilla extract

Serves
makes 3 Cups

Greek food writer Aglaia Kremezi, who gave us this recipe, cooks the cherries with a beet to give them a rich red hue.

Ingredients

2 lb. very firm sweet cherries such as rainier or royal ann, washed, stemmed, and stoned
2 cups sugar
¹⁄₄ cup fresh lemon juice
1 red beet, washed, trimmed, and quartered
2-3 tsp. vanilla extract

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Instructions

Step 1

Put cherries and sugar into a large bowl; toss gently to mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Transfer cherries and accumulated syrup to a medium pan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to a boil, about 10 minutes. Boil gently for 3 minutes more. Set aside to cool completely, then transfer cherries with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside.

Step 2

Boil syrup in pan for 1 minute over medium heat. Add lemon juice and beets and continue to boil until syrup reaches the soft-ball stage or 238°-240° on a candy thermometer, 15-20 minutes. Add cherries and boil for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool completely, then remove and discard beets. Transfer spoon sweets to a clean quart jar and store in the refrigerator.