Thickening cherries made easy! We show you the best methods for fruity enjoyment with rice pudding, pudding or waffles.
Warm cherries are something very special. I love them! To make it really delicious, you should thicken cherries. Because only normally cooked, it's just too liquid for rice pudding, cakes, ice cream and Co.
But how to turn the liquid cherry juice into a thick sauce?
There are many ways to thicken cherries.
Today I would like to introduce you to all the variations and tell you step by step how to do it.
You will see: Thickening cherries is very easy and done in a few minutes!
You can use fresh or frozen cherries for this or buy some in a jar.
Be careful not to add too much sugar to the store-bought variety, as this masks the good taste of the fruit.
Table of contents
By the way, perfect with cherries: Healthy pancakes with yogurt!
How to prepare the cherries for thickening
You have fresh cherries? Then you need to prepare them. But that goes quite quickly. And the taste is much better than fruit from a jar!
- Wash the cherries
- Core them
- Put it in a saucepan
- Depending on whether they are very juicy or not, add more or less water. It's better to add a little less, because they lose a little liquid themselves when heated. And topping up is always possible!
- Boil the cherries once briefly and then pull the pot off the stove.
Now your cherries are swimming in their own juice and are ready for further processing.
If you want the cherries to not be destroyed by boiling and stirring, fish them out of the water after boiling.
After we thicken the cherry juice, the fruit comes back into the juice.
Yummy! Rhubarb grits with strawberries and chia pudding!
What do I have to consider if I want to thicken cherries?
Before we get started, some basic info to make sure nothing goes wrong. Because even though it's very easy to get cherry juice thicker, there are a few tips you should follow.
Beware of burning
It doesn't matter what you use to thicken cherries, the important thing is that you heat them beforehand.
But be careful: If you have thickened the cherries, the liquid will burn very quickly.
So you need to stir constantly and the best to turn off the stove immediately.
Once the cherries are burnt, there is unfortunately nothing you can do. You can no longer get the taste out of the pot.
Therefore, it is better to stir too much than too little!
What cherries are suitable for thickening
From sugary to sour, all cherries are made for thickening. Heart cherries are very juicy and therefore usually need a little more starch (or another means of thickening).
Cartilage cherries are firmer and less juicy. Here you need to add a little more water (or red wine).
And sour cherries tolerate a little sugar or taste better with custard powder.
Unlike cherries from a jar, freshly harvested fruit is crisper and has more bite.
If you have frozen cherries, they may become mushy and fall apart during cooking. However, this does not change the taste. Frozen cherries are good for sauces on waffles and everything where the appearance does not matter :)
The best combo in the world: low carb waffles and cherries!
What liquid is suitable for thickening cherries
To thicken cherries, you need liquid. You can use tap water, red wine, cherry juice or cherry brandy.
If you don't want to use cherry juice, you can make it yourself. Take very ripe cherries, they contain the most liquid.
Press them or blend them and you will get cherry juice.
I usually take some tap water and mix it with juice from fresh cherries. During cooking, the small, red fruits lose some juice, so that in total it fits exactly.
Which starch for thickening?
The classic way to thicken cherries is with starch. You can use corn or potato starch for this. Very important: You must always mix the starch in cold liquid! If you pour it into a pot with boiling liquid, lumps will form!
Good to know: Strength begins between 80 and 90 degrees Celsius to bind.
Here's how you do it:
- Heat the cherries with juice in a saucepan. While they begin to boil, prepare the starch.
- Depending on the desired consistency, mix 1-2 tablespoons of starch in 50 ml of cold (!) water. The best way is in a cup. Stir until the starch has dissolved.
- Now the cherries should already be boiling. Fish them out of the liquid with a sieve if you want them to remain visually intact.
- Stir the starch-water mixture into the cherry juice. Let the mixture boil again and then turn down the temperature.
- It will take about 30 seconds to a minute for you to notice that the liquid is becoming more solid.
It is too liquid? Then take a little cold water and starch again. Start the process all over again. But be patient. It can sometimes take a little longer for the starch to take hold.
By the way, for cake fillings you need to take 3-4 tablespoons of starch.
But beware: If you have too much Cornstarch* Once you have added the liquid, you can hardly undo this. Once the mixture is too firm, it will start to lump when you add new liquid. The starch and water will then be difficult to mix.
Therefore: Better too little than too much and still give a little.
How can I thicken cherries with custard powder?
You can add even more flavor to your dessert by thickening cherries with pudding. Vanilla and cherries harmonize incredibly well. The process is almost identical to thickening cherries with starch.
Here's how you do it:
- Bring the cherries to a boil in a saucepan.
- Stir 1-2 tablespoons vanilla pudding with 50 ml water or cold cherry juice until smooth and no lumps are visible.
- Pour the custard mix into the boiling cherries.
- Turn off the heat and stir the cherries until you notice they are getting thicker.
If you want it to be especially vanilla, cook a vanilla bean with it. For every 250 g of cherries, use about 1/4 vanilla bean, which you then remove.
If you want to use all the custard powder, you will need at least 0.5 liters of liquid in total (juice from the cherries and water).
Can cherries also be thickened with flour?
You don't have starch and pudding powder at home? No problem. Thickening cherries with flour works just as well! But you have to be careful. If you use too much, you can taste the flour. Light wheat flour is best, as it has no flavor of its own.
Good to know: Flour binds between 90 and 100 degrees.
Here's how you do it:
- Bring the cherries to a boil. Fish them out of the liquid with a sieve.
- Stir 1-2 tablespoons of wheat flour with twice the amount of cold water in a cup.
- Add the flour-water mixture to the simmering cherry juice.
- Stir well and turn off the stove.
Finally, add the cherries back into the liquid.
To mask the flour taste, most add vanilla extract, vanilla sugar or a piece of vanilla bean to the cherry liquid - before thickening.
Another good way to thicken cherries with flour is to make a roux. This is done by melting butter or margarine in a saucepan. Then add flour - heat briefly and then stir into the cherry juice. I use this method to make vegetable soup, stews or goulash thicker.
What other foods can be used to thicken cherries?
Also good for thickening cherries are other ingredients.
- Locust bean gum
- Agar agar*
- Cream stiffener
- Cake glaze or gelatin
Try these lupine flour pancakes with cherry grits!
How can I refine the cherries?
Cherries are delicious. But you can still refine them. Many spices really bring out the flavor of the red little fruit.
- Rum, red wine or kirsch
- Cinnamon*
- Lemon juice
- Star anise
- Cloves
- Cardamom*
- Vanilla bean
- Lemon or orange zest
- Honey
Our conclusion
Sweet dishes like pancakes, rice pudding and waffles become unbeatably delicious with warm cherries! The small red fruits get the most flavor when you thicken cherries with vanilla pudding. Rather tasteless is Cornstarch* and flour.
Good luck! :)
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