Is there any way I can save these cherries? I had a full bag of dried sweet

M

marilynfl

Moderator
cherries and a full bag of dried tart cherries and was tired of granola. So I packed them in a quart mason jar, covered with Benedictine (a sweet herbal liqeur that goes really well with brandy) and stuck it in a dark pantry. I'm not sure what end result I expected, but each component was tasty on its own.

When I tasted it a month later, it tasted like cough medicine for consumptive patients at a Swiss sanatorium---obviously one of those "the whole is LESS than the sum of its parts" situations.

I added straight brandy, but that didn't seem to help. Then I added vodka to try to dilute the sweetness.

It still tastes like the Smith Brother's scowl.

I hate to waste all those expensive cherries and booze. Any suggestions would be appreciated.





 
I have no experience with this but was wondering what might happen if you cooked it down

to get rid of some of the alcohol then added a good raspberry, or pomegranate vinegar in small amounts, doing a taste test as you go. Maybe adding some orange zest along the way too.

 
or maybe some sour cherry juice. Do a test with a couple Tbls of the mix and a little of the juice..

or juices

 
I tried this not long ago as well. I use canned cherries in clafouti and thought I might try

brandying a handful of the dry guys. I too, was not happy with the result but it's just a handful.

If I were holding this jar in my hand, I would dump the liquor (pains me to say that) and give them a good rinse with warm water and then let them soak in some more water. Use them in muffins or something to which you can add lots of spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. They will at least be plump.

Now for that liquor.....know anyone with a whopping case of the flu? I have always detested B&B or especially just Benedictine. It always reminds me of the bitters like Jaegermeister (however it is spelled) that Germans love, or that I can tolerate if I am feeling ill.

 
I say go with the sour cherry juice; dilute by at least 1/4--better yet, taste and then . . .

dilute some more. You could probably try concentrating the sour cherry juice by boiling it down and then adding it to your liquor. Better yet, go to a health food store/Amazon and buy some sour cherry juice concentrate and dilute with that?

 
Double whammy of sugar with the cherries and the benedictine.

You might try using it in a savory dish--like a beef ragout and use some of it to make the sauce, adding some good brown stock to it. If you like or can get venison, it is delicious with a cherry sauce, as are duck breasts.
You might try adding some vanilla to some (just for tasting) to see if it might mellow it out.
Maybe even a chicken dish, using thighs, would be good with the cherries.

 
Why not just doctor it a little and use it as cough syrup?

Granny's remedy. Make some cute labels and give it out as gifts to anyone coughing at work - might at least make them stop coughing at work one way or another.

 
My parents used to make us take this *elixer* called Brother John's or something like that. Tall

skinny dark bottle--tasted horrible! I'm thinking now it was probably cod liver oil, possibly with iodine or crank case oil added for flavoring.

Don't know what it was, but we rarely got colds. Which is a wonder considering there were always at least 4 E**** kids during any given decade (8 kids total over 25 years).

 
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