Low-Sodium Pickled Cherries

3 from 2 ratings

Trying to lower your sodium intake but can't do without that olive in your martini? These pickled cherries will give your cocktail that pickled bite without the salt.

Servings

servings

Ingredients

3 cup unsweetened cherries, fresh or frozen
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 -inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly diced
1 medium orange, zested and juiced
1 1/2 cup distilled apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Stuff the cherries, garlic, ginger, and orange zest into a container with a tightly fitting lid and set aside.
In a saucepan or small pot, mix 1 cup water with the apple cider vinegar, distilled white vinegar, sugar, juice from the orange, black peppercorns, turmeric, and cinnamon. Bring the pickling liquid to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat and allow the liquid to cool, at least 20 minutes or longer if you are using plastic containers.
When the liquid is lukewarm to the touch, carefully pour it into your container, covering the cherries. If there is not enough liquid, add a bit more apple cider vinegar. And if you have extra cherries, don’t panic. The ones in the container will most likely shrink a little in the hot liquid. So when there’s extra space, go ahead and add the leftover cherries to the container.
Finally, place the lid on the container and close tightly. Give it 5-6 good shakes to mix up all the pickling juices and stick it in the fridge to cool.
In 48 hours, the cherries will be ready for munching. Resist the urge to taste before then, because the longer you wait, the more "pickly" they will be. But do try to finish them off within 2 weeks — which won’t be hard. And serve them on their own; as a complement to a cheese plate (for your salt-eating friends); or as a gift to your next host or hostess.