When cherries ripen in July, we turn 1 kg of fruit into 2 bottles of single-variety syrup. Sweet, fruity, with a gentle sharpness. The method is straightforward: stone the cherries, leave them to macerate with sugar, bring the juice briefly to the boil, then fill into sterile bottles. The Thermomix® handles the blending, the precise heating to 100°C and the steady simmer at speed 1.
We have been using this recipe for years in sparkling drinks, cocktails (Cherry Hugo, Cherry Mojito) and as a topping for vanilla ice cream or pancakes. A 500 ml bottle keeps in the fridge for 3 months and, if properly bottled, for over a year.
Cherry Syrup with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 4 ✓
- 1000 g cherries
- 500 g water
- 500 g raw cane sugar
- 1 lemon
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Stone the cherries.
Stone the cherries.
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2
Blend the cherries.
Place the stoned cherries in the mixing bowl together with the water and raw cane sugar and blend for 20 sec / speed 8.
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3
Simmer the syrup.
Heat the syrup mixture for 18 min / 90°C / speed 1.
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4
Leave to rest.
Transfer the syrup mixture to an airtight container and leave to rest in the fridge for 10 hours.
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5
Strain.
Strain the syrup mixture through a fine sieve, return to the mixing bowl, squeeze in the lemon juice and cook for 10 min / 100°C / speed 1.
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6
Sterilise the bottles.
Meanwhile, sterilise the bottles.
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7
Fill the bottles.
Fill the sterilised bottles with the hot syrup, seal immediately, leave to cool, then store in a cool, dark place.
Tips: Once opened, store the syrup in the fridge and use within a few weeks.
For a light cherry drink, mix this syrup 1:4 with sparkling water.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Which cherries work best
Sweet cherries (Burlat, Kordia, Regina) give a mild, deep-red syrup. Sour cherries (Morello) bring the typical sharpness that makes a syrup come alive in a cocktail. We often blend 70:30 sweet to sour, which gives balance without cloying sweetness. The Bavarian State Institute for Agriculture recommends using fully ripe fruit that gives slightly when pressed gently. Firm cherries yield less juice.
Frozen cherries work year-round. We thaw them overnight in the fridge and collect the juice that runs out, which goes straight into the pot. Because the cell walls have already broken down during freezing, the syrup turns out especially intense. Cookidoo recipes often work only with fresh cherries, but we see frozen as an equally good alternative.
Why the 10-hour macerating time is essential
We combine the stoned cherries with 500 g of sugar and leave the mixture covered in the fridge for at least 10 hours, or overnight. The sugar draws the juice from the cherries by osmosis without any added water. The result is a highly concentrated, clear syrup with no watery aftertaste.
Many recipes and Cookidoo versions add extra water, which thins the syrup and halves the flavour intensity. We stick to the pure method: 1 kg cherries, 500 g sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, no water. Anyone who prefers a thinner syrup can simply dilute it when serving.
Simmer, strain, bottle
After the macerating time we blend briefly for 5 seconds at speed 5, then heat for 15 min at 100°C at speed 1. The lemon juice (1 tbsp) stabilises the colour and helps with pectin bonding. We then pour through a fine sieve lined with muslin. For a crystal-clear syrup, leave the cloth to drip overnight without pressing. Pressing gives more yield but a cloudier result.
We sterilise the bottles in the oven at 120°C for 15 min and the lids in boiling water for 5 min. Fill while hot, seal immediately, stand upside down for 5 min, then leave to cool. Correctly bottled, the syrup keeps for 12 months unopened.
Five syrup variations from our kitchen
Vanilla cherry syrup (add 1 vanilla pod during cooking), cherry cinnamon syrup (1 cinnamon stick and 3 cloves), Black Forest syrup (stir in 50 ml kirsch after straining), pure Morello (only sour cherries, 600 g sugar to balance the extra sharpness), cherry and elderberry (add 200 g elderberries during cooking).
What goes well with cherry syrup
The syrup works as a topping variation alongside our Hot Cherries, pairs with Cherry Liqueur as an alcohol-free alternative, and adds a sweetness boost to our Cherry Compote. More summer classics in our Cherry Recipes Collection.
Cooking with the stones for an almond note
For a more complex syrup, cook 10 to 15 whole cherries with their stones included. The stones release faint traces of benzaldehyde during heating, which is the natural marzipan note we also know from persipan and amaretto. Important: only use intact stones (do not crack them), and remove them completely after straining. In such small quantities the trace amounts of prussic acid are harmless, as they escape during cooking and are caught by the sieve.
We use 1 tbsp lemon juice for the acidity rather than pure citric acid (as used in some Cookidoo and recipe-site versions with 20 g). Juice gives a rounder flavour, while powder can taste sharp. Both stabilise the red colour of the anthocyanins equally well. We serve the finished syrup mixed 1:5 with sparkling water for a spritzer, add 30 ml to prosecco for a Kir-Royal style drink, or use it as a base for cherry liqueur with 200 ml vodka per 500 ml syrup.
Also good with: Yoghurt, vanilla ice cream and Prosecco.
Also good with: Hot Cherry Punch with the Thermomix®.
