Remember when I mentioned that I had some pickled sweet things on the cooking roster? These would be them. I didn’t get around to making them last weekend like I intended, but I finally got to them today and I’m so glad I did.

I know, pickled fruit is completely unexpected. But I love it. In fact, my very first post on this site included pickled grapes. I’ve always been a sucker for sweet and savory things and these little guys didn’t have to try very hard to make me swoon. Deep red summer cherries, quickly cooked in white wine vinegar with peppercorns, coriander, red pepper flakes, rosemary and just enough sugar-that sounds amazing to me! Sweet cherries, tangy vinegar, spicy pepper, aromatic coriander and my favorite herb, rosemary!? What a great use of summer berries.

Assuming they’re still around come tomorrow morning, I’m planning on eating these with cheese, and lots of it (and paté, omg!). But I’m also planning on eating them on sandwiches and in salads and on skirt steak. I honestly think they might be good on anything that begs for a little sweet and a little pop. If you’re still weirded out by the idea of pickling fruit, I really think you should give these a try. They’ll totally change your mind.

Pickled Cherries

Adapted from Bon Appetit.

I subbed white wine vinegar for the called-for distilled vinegar, just because thats what I had. It worked.

3/4 c distilled white vinegar
3/4 c water
1/4 c sugar
2 t whole black peppercorns
1 t coriander seeds
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
1 large rosemary sprig

• Bring the first 6 ingredients to a boil in a medium sauce pan, reduce to medium and simmer for 5 minutes
• Strain the liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl and then return the strained liquid to the pan
• Add the cherries and the rosemary to the pickling liquid. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook just until the cherries are tender (~3-5 min)
• Pour the cherries and rosemary into a 1 qt mason jar, cover with pickling liquid, and chill
• Can be kept in the refrigerator up to 1 month