Cherry Topping

Click here to go to printable recipe:  Cherry Topping

As I mentioned in a previous post, my Stella cherry tree produced a disease-free and pest-free, bumper crop last month:

Stella are classic dark red, heart-shaped, and sweet cherries; we enjoyed some fresh, as they were being harvested:

However, at some point, I started hearing a daily fracas of birds that had gotten hooked on the yummy fruit; robins and blue jays were continuously seeking the juicy gems, and this tough competition forced me to harvest most of the crop a tad before full ripeness:

They were not very sweet, but the flavour was fantastic; making them into cherry topping, which calls for sugar, was a great way to reconcile flavour and sweetness.  After discarding stems and washing the fruit, removing the pit from each cherry was a big chore, but as I have mentioned before, a cherry and olive pitter makes the task easy, and fun:

Once pitted, I had about six cups of cleaned cherries:

Cherry Topping

Printable recipe:  Cherry Topping

Ingredients (for approximately 4 cups)

6 cups fresh cherries; stems removed, washed, and pitted
½ cup water, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp lemon juice

If planning to store the topping for a few weeks, prepare clean glass bottles with lid by rinsing with boiling water; place on a towel, and reserve.

Add corn starch and sugar to a pot with the water, and mix to dissolve (photo below, left).  Place pot on stove over high heat, and add cherries (photo below, right):

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium, and continue cooking  for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cherries start to soften; mash lightly (optional, photo below, left).  Add lemon juice, and continue cooking for another couple of minutes, until the liquid looks clear and starts to thicken (photo below, right):

If storing, transfer while piping hot to prepared bottles, filling to about a quarter inch (approx. 0.7 cm) from the rim, then place lid.  Allow to cool down completely before putting away:

The unopened bottles may be stored in the fridge for two to three months; once opened, store in the fridge and consume within a week.

This topping goes great on ice cream, pancakes, or the ultimate indulgence, crowning a classic cheesecake.

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I am sharing my recipe at What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #430 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.

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I am bringing my recipe to Full Plate Thursday #652 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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I am also sharing my post at Thursday Favourite Things #620, with Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom, Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.

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I am joining Fiesta Friday #496  with Angie @ Fiesta Friday.