Glyko Vyssino (Sour Cherries) and Vyssinada drink

Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus), is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus (cherries), native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the wild cherry (P. avium), but has a fruit that is more acidic and so is useful primarily for cooking.

There are two varieties of the sour cherry: the dark-red morello cherry and the lighter-red amarelle cherry.

In Greece we make a fruit preserve out of this fruit, called spoon sweets, as well as a drink called vyssinada or vyssino liqueur.

Vyssinada

To make vyssinada, wash and remove the stems and pits of the fruit and boil it with a small amount of water until soft.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

When they can be handled, put them in a strainer and squeeze to extract their juice.  For every cup of juice you will add 1 cup of sugar and let them rest for 2 hours removing any froth that may form on top.  Then bring to a boil again removing the froth.  Lower heat and simmer until the syrup is ready.  Before the end add 1 tsp lemon juice for every cup of juice you have added and mix.  Store in sterilized bottles.

To serve, add about 2 cm vyssinada (depending on how sweet you want it add less or more)  in a glass and fill with iced water.

The spoon sweet is made almost the same way as making Cherry spoon sweet.

Glyko Vyssino (Sour Cherries)

Preparation time: 1 hour

Cooking time: about 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo fresh sour cherries
• 1 kilo granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 – 4 fragrant geranium leaves or 1/2  tsp vanilla essence
  
• 1 tablepoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Wash the cherries well.   Remove stems and pits (use pit remover, my mother used to do it with the back of a hair pin) carefully, keeping cherries intact. Be careful when removing because they stain the clothes and do not clean easily. Remove pit in a bowl with the half cup of water and collect juices which may drop.
2. Place sour cherries in a sauce pan, covering each layer with sugar.
3. Drain the pits with any juices collected in the saucepan.
4. Leave them in the saucepan until the following day.
   
5. Bring the cherries and sugar to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and skim off foam as it rises to the top with a slotted ladle.  When it cleans from the froth add the fragrant geranium leaves and simmer until the syrup thickens.
   
6. After half an hour, test to see if the syrup is ready.    (See link below)
7. Finally, add the lemon juice and allow to boil for another few seconds. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down.
8. When thoroughly cooled, place in airtight sterilized glass jars to store.

To serve, place 2-3 teaspoonfuls of the cherries and syrup on a small plate. Sour Cherry Spoon Sweet is always served with a glass of cold water.

Serve alone, with Greek coffee, or as a topping on yogurt, vanilla ice cream, on pana cotta, mahalebi, cheesecake, tarts, crepes, or use them to make icecreams or other desserts.

If you liked this see other relevant posts:

Glyko Kerassi (Cherry Spoon Sweet)
Glyko Karpouzi (Water Melon)
Glyko Nerantzi (Bitter oranges)
Glyko Bergamonto (Bergamot)
Glyko Karydaki (green immature walnuts)
Glyko Kydoni me amygdala (Quince with almonds)
Glyko Kydoni me kastana (Quince with chestnuts)
Glyko Milo (Apples)

also

About Spoon sweets
How can we tell if the syrup is ready?
How to fix spoon sweets

Tags: Drinks, Jams and preserves, sour cherries, Spoon Sweets, vyssino