Pickled Summer Bing Cherries

This recipe was shared with us by Lisa Dupar, Chief Creative Officer and owner of Lisa Dupar Catering and owner, with her husband, Jonathan Zimmer, of Pomegranate Bistro in Redmond, WA.

PICKLED SUMMER BING CHERRIES
Ratio:
2 pounds of cherries
3 cups vinegar
4 cups of sugar

Fresh pitted sweet dark cherries (Bings)
Distilled white vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
Sugar

Place cherries in a VERY clean white food grade plastic container.
Cover them with vinegar. Weight the cherries down if you need to. Cover with plastic. Wrap then lid. Date and initial.

Let stand in a cool place for 4 days.
Drain off the vinegar and use for cherry vinegar.

Place 1/3 of the cherries back in the plastic container. Cover with sugar.
Repeat with the remaining cherries until well covered with sugar.

Cover well with the lid and let stand in a cool place. Date and initial.

Every two days, gently shake or stir up cherries in sugar with a CLEAN arm and hand folding upwards to distribute the sugar. Initial and date when this is done. Sugar will dissolve and form vinegary syrup. Cherries will look shriveled. In about a month the cherries will reabsorb much of the syrup and be ready to use.

Equipment: Use only very, very clean gallon jars or a very, very clean food grade plastic container.