I thought you might be interested to know that I do other things apart from making cards :). So today I have a recipe for Spiced Port Cherries – albeit a little late for prime cherry time. We had cherries on our trees for the first time this year and we didn’t quite know how to cope with them. I bought a cherry pitter and that made the options easier. I found a recipe on taste.com.au by Michelle Southan. The slowest part is pitting the cherries but the rest is really straight forward.
Spiced Port Cherries
Ingredients
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- 155 g (3/4 cup) castor sugar
- 1 star anise
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
- 1 x 8cm strip orange rind
- 700 g fresh cherries, pitted
- 250 ml (1 cup) port
Method
- Wash a 1 litre (4 cup) capacity glass preserving jar with plastic lid (I had saved some jars from store-bought jams) in hot, soapy water and rinse well. Drain on a rack.
- Place the water, sugar, star anise, vanilla bean and orange rind in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 mins. or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Add the cherries. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3-4 mins. (I left mine much longer, perhaps 10 mins.) or until cherries soften slightly.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer all solids to the preserving jars.
- Bring syrup to the boil over high heat. Boil for 5 mins. or until syrup thickens. Add port and bring to the boil. Use a candy thermometer to ensure syrup reaches 85°C. (I didn’t have a thermometer just waited until it was bubbling rapidly). Pour syrup over the cherries and seal immediately. Turn upside down for 2 mins. Turn upright and set aside until cool. Store in fridge for up to 1 month.
My dh loves these with ice cream. In fact he likes them so much that when I suggested giving some to a friend he was unhappy. 😆
I have been trying some “Nigella” recipes and have found some which you might like so I will share over the next week or so.
Bye for now,
Cards & Co
Cards & Co 