Rosemary cherries

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 2 kg cherries
• 400 g sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 2 lemon(s), organic
• 400 ml red wine vinegar
• 2 stalk(s) cinnamon
• 4 carnations
• 100 g gelling sugar, 3:1
• Pepper, black from the mill

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Spicy preserved cherries, a lovely culinary gift, tastes especially good with game and cheese

Wash and pit the cherries, then mix with the sugar and salt. Let stand for one hour. Meanwhile, wash the lemons in hot water and finely peel them. Cut the zest into julienne strips. Pluck the rosemary needles and roughly chop them. They should be about the same length as the lemon peel julienne strips. Bring the cherries to a boil and then reduce the heat. Add the lemon zest, rosemary needles, cinnamon sticks, cloves, red wine vinegar, and the juice of both lemons. Slowly reduce everything over low heat. Finally, add the gelling sugar and bring back to a boil. Season with black pepper. Add more sugar, salt, or lemon juice if desired. Fill the hot cherries with the liquid into twist-off jars and seal immediately. Let cool upside down. If you have too much liquid, you can strain it, bring back to the boil, then pour it into a jar, or freeze it. This can serve as a flavorful base for a braised dish.