Okay, so I finally got around to making those Amarena cherries in syrup. Been meaning to try this for ages.
Getting Started – The Cherries
First step, obviously, was getting the cherries. I looked for sour cherries, the Morello type ideally, but finding them fresh was a bit tough. Ended up with a decent batch, maybe a couple of pounds worth. They looked pretty good, nice and dark.
Then came the part I wasn’t looking forward to: pitting the darn things. Took out my trusty cherry pitter. It’s still messy work, no way around it. Juice everywhere. Definitely wear an apron or old clothes. It took a while, probably a good hour just sitting there, pitting cherry after cherry. Got a big bowl full eventually.
Making the Syrup
Next up, the syrup. This part’s pretty straightforward. I grabbed my big saucepan. Dumped in a load of sugar, probably about equal weight to the cherries I guessed, maybe a little less. Added some water, just enough to get it wet and dissolve the sugar.
Put it on the stove, medium heat. Stirred it constantly at the start so the sugar wouldn’t stick and burn. You gotta wait for it to dissolve completely. Once it was clear and starting to bubble gently, I knew it was ready for the next step.
Combining and Cooking
Okay, syrup’s ready. Carefully tipped the pitted cherries into the hot syrup. Gave it a gentle stir to make sure all the cherries were coated. The smell started getting really good around now, that sweet cherry aroma.
Brought it back up to a simmer. The key here, I think, is low and slow. Didn’t want a rolling boil, just gentle bubbles. Let it simmer away. For how long? Honestly, I just watched it. Maybe 30 minutes? Maybe a bit longer? The cherries soften up and release more juice into the syrup, making it darker and richer.
Some people add lemon juice or almond extract. I thought about it, but decided to keep it simple for the first try. Just cherries, sugar, water.
Jarring and Waiting
Once the cherries looked soft and the syrup was nice and thick, I took it off the heat. Let it cool down just a bit, but not completely.
Had some clean jars ready. Carefully spooned the cherries and syrup into the jars. Filled them up pretty close to the top. Sealed them tight while they were still quite warm.
And now, the hardest part: waiting. They say these need to sit for a while, like a few weeks, for the flavours to really meld together. Put them in the back of the cupboard. It’s tough not to just crack one open right away, but I’ll try to be patient. Hopefully, they turn out like the real deal. We’ll see in a few weeks!
