posted by Pat T 10-20-98 11:44 AM
Candied Cherries
These are natural garnet color, keep well for at least 6 months, and are neither syrupy nor sticky.
1 cup stemmed, pitted fresh, ripe cherries Water to cover
2 cups sugar 1/3 cup light corn syrup
Put cherries in single layer in a shallow stainless-steel or enameled pan. Add water just to cover, and simmer till fruit is barely tender. Drain well, reserving juice.
Rinse and dry skillet and measure into it 1 cup of the cherry cooking water; Add the sugar and corn syrup. Boil, covered, for 2 or 3 minutes. Uncover, add drained cherries, and simmer gently, turning the cherries a few
times with a large spoon, just till the fruit becomes translucent.
Shake the pan occasionally as the cherries cool, then cover. Let the cherries stand in the syrup for 12 hours or overnight. (This permits syrup to permeate the fruit).
Bring cherries to full boil and cook for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan back and forth constantly, until the syrup is thick.
Cover a large cake rack with cheesecloth. Lift the cherries from the syrup with a fork and place them well apart on rack to drain for several hours or till look slightly dry. (Save the flavorful syrup for another use).
Store cherries at room temperature in sterilized jar with a sterilized, air tight lid. Yield: 1 half-pint jar. Store at least 6 months.
Source: Better Than Storebought by Helen Witty and Elizabeth Colchie