Photo: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain · source

Compote · From Bladwijzer

Sour cherries in syrup

Updated on 9 October 2026

• Makes: 3 jars of 500 ml
• Time: 45 min
• From: Sour cherry

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg sour cherries
• 500 ml water
• 250 g sugar
• optionally 1 cinnamon stick

Method

1. Rinse the cherries, remove the stalks and stone them if you like.
2. Bring the water, sugar and cinnamon to the boil to make a syrup.
3. Add the cherries, bring back to the boil and simmer gently for 2 minutes.
4. Spoon the cherries into clean, hot jars, top up with hot syrup to 1 cm below the rim and close.
5. Sterilise the jars for 20 minutes at 90 °C in a preserving pan or large pot, with water up to the shoulders.
6. When serving, thicken the juice with a little cornflour if you like. A classic with meatballs, rice pudding or vanilla ice cream.

Storing: A year in a cool, dark place; once opened, keep in the fridge and eat within a week.