Note: A tasty use for cherry pits! Also works for other stone fruits and citrus peels. A nice addition to cocktails.
Ingredients:
pits from 1 pint of Cherries
⅛ cup Sugar
pinch of Kosher Salt
¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional)
Directions:
Combine pits, sugar, and salt in a small cup and stir till pits are coated
Cover and let sit for several hours or overnight
Check to see if sugar has dissolved, add vanilla if using
If you want, let sit longer, or strain through a fine mesh sieve
Final Notes:
I've done this before with squeezed lemon and lime halves, as well as peach pits. So I didn't really feel like trying to follow a recipe. But the idea came from Serious Eats. Here's about cherries specifically.
I used not quite a full 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and it was overpowering. So I'd try 1/4 teaspoon next time, maybe even less. I mostly added it just to help dissolve some more sugar than because I actually wanted vanilla, so water could also work.
After a couple of hours, sugar hasn't completely dissolved. But liquid has been drawn out from the pits.
After sitting overnight and adding vanilla.
About the recipe, from Stella Parks Cherry Pit Syrup Recipe:
Sugar is hygroscopic, allowing it to draw moisture and flavor from the fruit left clinging to the cherry pits.
In time, the residual moisture surrounding the pits will be enough to dissolve the sugar entirely, without the need for any added liquid.
To most folks, cherry pits are an annoyance with no value of their own, but that needn't be the case. Though they may not look like much, those pits still have plenty of moisture and flavor that sugar can coax out into a bright and colorful syrup.
Ingredients
7 ounces cherry pits (about 1 heaping cup; 200g); see notes
3 1/2 ounces plain or toasted sugar (about 1/2 cup; 100g)
Pinch of salt, to taste
1 drop rose water, or more to taste (optional)
1 drop almond extract, or more to taste (optional)
Directions
In a small bowl or pint Mason jar, combine cherry pits and sugar (and the husk of a juiced lime, if using; see notes). Toss until well combined, then cover tightly and set aside for 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Shake the bowl or jar occasionally to toss the pits around and help the sugar dissolve.
When sugar has completely dissolved, strain syrup through a fine-mesh sieve. (The pits will still have enough flavor left to make a batch of cherry pit whipped cream, if you'd like to arm yourself with the perfect set of toppings for a cherry sundae.)
Season syrup with a pinch of salt and a drop or two of rose water and/or almond extract to taste. Please use care in adding these potent ingredients; while a very small amount of each can go a long way toward balancing the flavor of the syrup, the effect can be overwhelming if too much is added.
Transfer syrup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use as a dessert sauce or as a replacement for simple syrup in drinks.
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