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Wishna

This can be served as a sweet, with thick cream to accompany. Or plunge 1–2 tablespoons of it into a glass of iced water, then drink the syrupy water and eat the fruit left at the bottom. Use an olive pitter to pit the cherries.

Ingredients

2 pounds pitted sour or morello cherries
4 cups sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Layer the pitted cherries and sugar in a large glass or earthenware bowl, and leave them to macerate and release their juices overnight.

    Step 2

    The following day, pour the cherries and juice into a large pan and bring to the boil very slowly, stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. Let the cherries simmer in their own juice for about 1/2 hour, or until very soft, adding a little water only if necessary. If the syrup is still too thin at the end, remove the cherries carefully to glass jars with a perforated spoon and simmer for a few minutes longer, until it coats the back of a spoon. A little lemon juice is sometimes added during the cooking.

    Step 3

    Pour into clean glass jars, let it cool, and close tightly.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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