Greek Spoon Sweet with Sour Cherries ‘Vissina’
Greek spoon sweets are a famous delicacy in Greece and a traditional way of preserving seasonal fruit and veggies. One of my favourite ingredients to use are sour cherries. They are slightly tart, juicy and pair so beautifully with yogurt, ice-cream and of course are amazing just on their own.
Ingredients
→ 3.5kg whole sour cherries (whole)
→ 2kg raw cane sugar
→ 250g water
→ 1 x big vanilla bean
→ 1 x cinnamon stick
Method
→ Pit cherries into a bowl reserving the pips and their juices seperate to the now pitted cherries.
→ Mix the pips with water well and leave to soak for at least 2 hours.
→ Place cherries into a large pot with the strained juice and water from the pips. (Discard the pips after)
→ Add in the scraped vanilla bean, sugar and cinnamon stick and bring to the boil.
→ Once at boiling point reduce temperature to simmer on a lower heat for about 2 hours. Be sure to continually skim and remove froth that forms on the surface of liquid.
→ After 2 hours check consistency by placing a spoon full of the cooked cherries in the fridge for 10min. Check the cooled cherries to ensure the syrup holds shape.
→ Consistency should be thick but drizzly however it is up to you. If you like it runnier cook for less and if you prefer thicker then cook them longer.
→ Once finished place cherries and syrup in airtight jars or vacuum sealed bags and store in the fridge or a cool dark area for years to enjoy with yogurt, ice-cream or on their own!
→ Watch how to make with this video. Kali orexi!
