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If you have only ever had shop bought glacé cherries before then you are in for such a treat with these gloriously fruity Homemade Glacé Cherries made with fresh seasonal cherries. Lusciously juicy, full of sweet cherry flavour these glacé cherries will level up your fruit cakes, fridge cakes, rocky roads, Christmas cakes and cocktails! They are not an overnight recipe and require a little bit of time but I guarantee the results will mean you never go back to shop bought again!
These Homemade Glacé Cherries are the real deal and are a world away from the lurid preservative driven numbers you can find in the supermarket.
Made from fresh cherries they capture the gorgeous sweet and fruity flavour of your favourite summer stone fruit.
Let’s get this out of the way, this is not a quick recipe that you can complete in one afternoon. It takes 10 days in total (more if you’re feeling a bit lazy – this recipe can be a relaxed affair) but apart from the first and last day you only need to spend a maximum of 10 minutes tending to your cherries each day.
These candied cherries are a world away from anything you might have had before, they don’t have the brilliant postbox red colour but instead command an alluring burgundy. Their texture is also much more dense and fudgey and will pay dividends into your baking all year round.
Table of contents
Quick summary of the recipe
- Day 1. Pit the cherries. Simmer until tender. Create a syrup from the cooking liquid and sugar and pour over your cherries to soak.
- Day 2-5. Drain cherries. Add more sugar to the syrup, heat until melted and pour back over your cherries to soak.
- Day 6. Repeat Day 5 but leave your cherries for at least 4 days to soak.
- Day 10. Drain your cherries and dry in a low oven for at least 2 hours. Store until needed.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They knock the socks of shop bought glacé cherries.
- Made with fresh seasonal cherries.
- You will be astounded by the lovely real cherry flavour in these Glacé Cherries.
- Beautiful deep rich red that shine like beautifully expensive rubies.
- The recipe isn’t rigid, you can leave your cherries for longer to soak during each stage of the recipe if you can’t afford time to tend to them each day.
Ingredients needed
- Fresh seasonal cherries. I know some people have achieved success with frozen cherries but I myself haven’t tried it.
- Sugar. White granulated sugar is the best choice here for even melting.
- Water. From the tap is absolutely fine.
Step by step instructions
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
DAY 1
- Prepare your cherries. Pit the cherries then heat them in simmering water until tender. Drain and reserve the liquid.
- Make the syrup. Heat the cherry cooking liquid with sugar until the sugar has melted then pour over the cherries. Cover and leave for 24 hours.
DAY 2-5
Drain the cherries and re-heat the syrup with more sugar. Once the sugar has melted pour back over the cherries, cover and leave for another 24 hours.
DAY 6
Repeat Day 5 but this time leave the cherries for at least 4 days for their final soaking.
DAY 10
Drain the cherries. Reserve the syrup for a future use (although you’ll no longer be needing it for this recipe) and place your cherries on a wire rack. Once they have drip dried as much as they are going to then you place the rack in a very low heated oven and dry out the cherries for 2 hours until they only a little tacky. Store in a sterilised jar.
Pro tips and troubleshooting
- Use a proper cherry pitter for preparing the cherries so you only get minimal damage to the fruit and a nice clean hole.
- You can save the cherry pits for making Homemade Kirsch or Cherry Vodka.
- The initial boiling of the cherries takes about 10-15 minutes until they are tender.
- Don’t stir the sugar into the liquid (or the syrup after Day 1), let it dissolve naturally – otherwise it could crystallise.
- Bring to a gentle boil. As soon as the syrup begins to bubble check the sugar has completely dissolved then immediately remove from heat. It is important the sugar does not reach caramelisation temperature.
- Don’t put the lid on the cherries right away – allow to cool to room temperature before covering.
- You can keep your soaking cherries either at room temperature or in the fridge, it depends on how humid your kitchen is.
What to do if your cherries start to crystallise
If this happens it is because the syrup has become too hot, the syrup has overboiled and the sugars in the syrup have started to caramelise. To avoid this make sure you do not overheat the syrup when you are melting the new sugar.
However don’t worry, it does happen. I’ve been guilty of this too many times when I’ve walked away from the pan whilst making the syrup.
You will realise your mistake the next day if your soaked cherries have a film of hardened sugar around them or the sugar has hardened at the bottom of the soaking bowl.
You can flake off the sugar from the cherries with your finger and pour the liquid syrup into a saucepan (discard the hardened sugar). Add 100ml of water to the syrup along with the 100g of sugar for that day and just add another day onto your process.
If the crystallization persists then you will have to live with it. The cherries still taste good and can be used in baking.
Did you forget to tend to your cherries?
- Don’t worry. I have made these cherries a.lot.of.times. Sometimes I stick rigidly to the timings the recipe gives. However, more often than not life gets in the way and I either don’t have time on a given day to tend to the cherries or I just clean forget.
- If you are one or two days late in re-syruping your cherries then they should be fine.
- When you get to Day 6 you can even leave your cherries for up to a week before you start the final drain and dry of the cherries.
Drying the cherries
The recipe gives a loose indication that the cherries will take 1-2 hours to dry in the oven. I have found that it depends on the cherries, how big they are, how they were pitted as that has a factor on how much syrup they retain. They might take up to 3 hours, although if they do watch them closely as you do not want them to start cooking.
Your finished cherries can still be slightly tacky. For really perfectly dried cherries you might like to use a dehydrator but I haven’t used one for this recipe so I can’t comment on the best way to use it here.
How to store
- You can store your finished candied cherries in a cool dark place in a sterilised jar (like a larder or pantry). They keep well for up to 2 months. Although the longevity of the cherries depends on how well they have been dried and that the jar is totally sterilised and isn’t opened. To that end, I mostly keep mine in the fridge as I don’t want to tempt fate after all the hard work I put in.
- If stored in the fridge your glacé cherries will last easily up to 2 months.
How to sterilise the jar/s
Place your jar in an oven pre-heated to 200ºC / 180ºC / gas mark 6 for 15 minutes to fully sterilise. If the lid is glass then place in the oven along with the jar. If the lid is metal then it is best sterilised in boiling water for 10 minutes so it doesn’t spoil.
Equipment I love
- This multi cherry pitter which pits 6 cherries at a time is such a time saver and is highly recommended.
- For soaking your cherries I strongly recommend using these Pyrex bowls with lids for this recipe.
- To store your glacé cherries these Glass Weck Jars 580ml are ideal.
How to use your Homemade Glacé Cherries
How not to use them that is the question. You can use them whenever you would normally use a glacé cherry. That includes these recipes:
- Gluten-Free Cherry Cake
- Rocky Road
- Gluten-Free Christmas Cake
- Gluten-Free Fruit Cake
- Gluten-Free Simnel Cake
- Chocolate Tiffin
- Gluten-Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake
How to use the leftover syrup
With this recipe you will be left with the most deliciously fruity cherry syrup which will really come into its own in your kitchen.
This is an amazing ingredient which can be used in a variety of ways in its own right, from creating deliciously moist and flavourful cakes to buttercream to salad dressings and marinades.
If you want to learn more about how to use your leftover syrup and have access to exclusive recipes then CLICK HERE >>> Leftover Syrup: Recipes & Tips.
More ‘from scratch’ baking ingredient recipes
I urge you to give these Homemade Glacé Cherries a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Homemade Glacé Cherries
Ingredients
- 600 g fresh cherries
- 700 ml boiling water
- 1 kg granulated sugar
Instructions
Day 1
- Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter so that the cherry remains intact and the hole where the pit came out is as neat as possible.
- Place the cherries in a large pan with the boiling water (you want the water to just cover the cherries), turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until the cherries are just tender.
- Drain the cherries but reserve the liquid. Place the cherries into a heatproof bowl (if it has a lid all the better!) and set aside for a moment.
- Weigh the cooking liquid. You want it to weigh 500g. If there is not enough liquid then make up the difference with more boiling water.
- Pour the reserved liquid back into the saucepan with 500g of the sugar and bring to a gentle boil. As soon as the syrup begins to bubble then turn off the heat and pour the syrup over the cherries.
- Cover the bowl and leave to soak for 24 hours.
Day 2
- Strain the syrup into a large saucepan and return the cherries to the bowl.
- Add 100g of sugar to the saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves. As soon as the syrup reaches boiling point again then remove from the heat.
- Pour the syrup back over the cherries, cover and leave for another 24 hours.
Day 3-5
- Repeat Day 2
Day 6
- Repeat the process again with the remaining 100g sugar but this time leave the cherries for at least 4 days (you can leave for up to a week if you like).
Day 10
- The syrup should have now turned very thick and heavy. Drain the cherries. Place the cherries on an ovenproof wire rack, set onto a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Don’t let the cherries touch each other and allow the syrup to drip off for a couple of hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 90ºC / 70ºC fan / Gas mark ¼ and place the cherries in the middle of the oven. Dry your cherries in the oven for 1 -2 hours until dry but still slightly tacky.
- Store your cherries in a sterilised jar and keep either in a cool dark place or the fridge for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from The Cook’s Scrapbook by Reader’s Digest
- This recipe was updated in October 2021 with new images, a much clearer method and lots of tips. Although the general process of the recipe has remained the same, the quantities were amended for a slightly higher amount of cherries so you get more cherries for the amount of effort put in. Plus the method was made slightly easier and quicker and ready in 10 days instead of 2 weeks.
- The initial boiling of the cherries takes about 10-15 minutes until they are tender.
Don’t stir the sugar into the liquid (or the syrup after Day 1), let it dissolve naturally – otherwise it could crystallise. - Bring to a gentle boil. As soon as the syrup begins to bubble check the sugar has completely dissolved then immediately remove from heat. It is important the sugar does not reach caramelisation temperature.
- Don’t put the lid on the cherries right away – allow to cool to room temperature before covering.
- You can keep your soaking cherries either at room temperature or in the fridge, it depends on how humid your kitchen is.
- It is possible to dry your cherries in a dehydrator if you have one.
- The cherries usually take 1-2 hours to dry in the oven depending on the cherry and how much syrup they have retained in their middle. Touch and squeeze the cherry just to check. They should be slightly tacky with no syrup coming out when you squeeze.
How to store
- It’s imperative to store the cherries in sterilised jars in order to prolong the life of your glace cherries.
It is possible to store in a pantry or larder for up to 2 months. However, to be extra cautious I usually store in the fridge where they will keep happily for up to 2 months.
Bronwyn says
I haven't tried the recipe yet. I can't think of any reason not to use home-canned or canned cherries, since the cherries are cooked at the start of the process anyway. Has anyone tried this?
Nicola says
Hi! Haven't tried this yet - waiting until I can get cherries - but I'm wondering if the finished glacé cherries can be frozen if I want to keep them longer than a couple of months? How long will they keep in the freezer? Thanks!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Nicola, if you keep them in the fridge then they keep pretty much indefinitely. I still have some in the fridge for a batch I made in early summer.
Denise A Peavey says
What kind of cherries do you start with?
Georgina Hartley says
This will work with any kind of fresh cherry (not tinned / canned). I haven't tried it with frozen but I think some of the commentators on this thread have.
Kate says
This is a wonderful recipe! And thank you for the helpful answer to my question. I did end up gently stirring the sugar into the syrup from day three through day six and managed to avoid crystallization, perhaps by the fact that I did squirt in a bit of lemon juice on a couple of days. The cherries look wonderful and I am amazed to taste a glacé cherry that tastes like a cherry! A sugar bomb cherry, but still, a real cherry! So much better than what I remember from childhood in Canada with an English mother. I will be putting them on traditional shortbread cookies and recapturing my Christmas childhood. But at a much higher quality standard 🙂 And in January, when the Christmas cake is done, I will make an old-fashioned English cherry cake!! As for the syrup! Two beautiful ruby jars of it. Can it be stored in the fridge or will it sugarize? Last time I made candied orange peel the syrup completely sugarized, But I had taken no precautions then and used a very different process with a lot of boiling. This stuff may not recreate childhood memories but go straight into cocktails!! I almost want to get a cough so I can suck it down as cough syrup 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful detail and care in the recipe!
Kate says
I'm on day two of this and when I poured the syrup back over the cherries I found a bunch of undissolved sugar at the bottom. I'm feeling paranoid about stirring the sugar to get it to dissolve, so that it doesn't crystallize, but is there no kind of stirring or anything one can do to help it along? Now I'm not quite sure how short of sugar I am for tomorrow! I did try switching the pan around a bit but cautiously and obviously not enough. The bubbles had only started to reach the surface but there had been bubbles on the bottom for a long time before that. I'm surprised the sugar had not dissolved. Any advice?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Kate, don't worry there is some room for discrepancy in the amount of sugar. When you pour the syrup back over the cherries, strain it so no undissolved sugar is included. To avoid this cook the syrup on a low heat so the sugar has a chance to melt evenly. If you feel it does need a stir then do it once or twice gently and slowly, one commentator above mentions that she always adds a bit of lemon juice to the syrup which helps to avoid crystallisation. I haven't tried it but it sounds like a great tip to try.
Jennifer Roderer says
I made these cherries with great success a couple of years back, and it led to my fruitcake being "in demand." I am a big procrastinator, however, and did not buy my fresh cherries when they were available this year. There is not a fresh cherry to be found in NYC at the moment. I just bought some frozen cherries, that have held up very well when thawing in the past. I am going to attempt this with frozen cherries. I am afeared, but I will forge ahead and let you all know how it goes. Lesson of the day: "when the days are hotter, fill your larder." JR
Georgina Hartley says
I'd love to know how it goes. I think it should work out just fine!!
Riccardo says
This is something I'd like to try.
Your recipe sounds very similar to one I have previously tried from a book. Sadly the outcome last time was a lovely cherry syrup that I hardly found a use for but some hard dry cherries that tasted of sugar and not of cherry at all. Total waste of good cherries, that was.
Although the cherries did crystalise, the main problem was that each time I took the cherries out of the syrup they seemed a little smaller as if, instead of absorbing the syrup, they were losing juice into the syrup.
My thought was that perhaps I should not have added the syrup to the cherries hot... but I see that is what you do. Any idea what may have caused the shrunken and dry flavourless cherries before I try your recipe and risk further failure? Please.
Georgina Hartley says
It's difficult to comment on another recipe as I'm not sure of the other differences. The trick I have found though is to not overboil the cherries in the syrup which leads to the crystallisation. Bring the syrup to a gentle simmer then take off the heat immediately and cover over the cherries.
Christian, Ealing, London says
These turned out really well and taste great. I made two batches and in one I put a good glut of Orgeat syrup and I think the ones with the almond edge taste better ! The others are great too. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will be making again.
Georgina Hartley says
That's great to hear - thank you!
Stacy Dawson says
I am on day 10 and anticipating success. Once I dry them, any suggestions on what to do with the syrup?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Stacy, You can drizzle the syrup over ice cream, porridge or into hot cocoa. You can brush over just baked cakes for added flavour and a yummy texture or even to the buttercream. Also use a tablespoon at the bottom of a glass of prosecco for an amazing cocktail. Or use in salad dressings in place of honey. There are so many uses.
Janey says
The cherry season this year has been particularly good, and I'm wanting to take advantage by making an enormous batch of these for my signature cherry almond scones. I was wondering how you store them once they're done? Is a steralised jar in a cool dark place acceptable or do you store these in the fridge?
Looking forward to tasting them!
Georgina Hartley says
Although technically if they are fully dried out then they are fine to store in the cupboard. I was burned by this one year though as I obviously hadn't dried them out enough so now I always store them in the fridge where they last for a long long time.
Spence McCleave says
I made this recipe for two years in a row, and it turned out great - bright red rubies. Perfect for my annual Nova Scotia Black Fruitcake. However, last year, and this year, the sugar crystallized. Reheating and cooling didn't help, they just did it again. The cherries are still usable, but not quite what I'm after. Any ideas what went wrong?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Spence, at what point did the sugar crystallise? Were you keeping the cherries in a warm or cool environment. This happened to me once before when I left the cherries for too long in the sugar syrup in the fridge.
Annie says
Hi there. I've been makung jams and preserves for years. At the cooking or heating process, I always add a little bit of lemon juice. That usualkt prevents the crystallization. Another tip. When cooking jam and preserves, as soon as the foaming starts, add a little butter. About a rmteaspiin of butter. That stops the foaming process and the laborious scooping off of the foam.
Georgina Hartley says
I love these tips Annie- the lemon juice one sounds like a winner. Thank you!
Nessie says
These are a revelation! They taste divine and look utterly stunning - I can't wait to taste the difference they will make to fruitcakes and the Christmas pudding. It was also fascinating to see the gradual transformation across the 2 weeks 🙂
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Nessie - that's great to hear. It's such a fun process too isn't it!!
Patricua says
I wandered the internet a few years ago looking for instructions on candying cherries and stumbled upon this site. The cherries instructions were very good and the outcome excellent. We are all gluten tolerant and at least occasional meat eaters here, but our repertoire has been happily broadened by other recipes I’ve found while nosing around the site. The tone, the anecdotes, the recipes, the lot, all very enjoyable.
Jenny says
Can I use frozen cherries by chance?
Georgina Hartley says
I haven't tried it with frozen cherries. I would think so but the cherries should be thawed completely before attempting. Once thawed if they have not gone to mush then they should be fine.
Helene says
Hi Jenni
Did you use the frozen cherries
And if so how were they?
I am thinking of doing the same
Thank you
Matt says
I don’t suppose these would work well in a dehydrator for the final drying phase? I’m looking at getting one to cut down on wastes fruit & veg.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Matt, yes the dehydrator is perfect for the final drying phase.
Mimi says
I just started these... one question. Am I supposed to refrigerate these during the process or leave them on the counter?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Mimi - you can leave them on the counter if you wash the bowl and lid that you are using every day after you drain the cherries out and you make sure that the cherries and syrup have completely cooled before re-covering. Your kitchen should also not be too warm. For safety, I usually refrigerate.