Sometimes I have in my head a scene where I put a cherry in front of a duck and tell that duck* that it and the cherry are meant for each other. The imagined scene often ends with the duck giving me an indignant stare, holding up the middle pointy end of one of its webbed feet. Yet, I figure, with or without an approving quack from our feathered friend, this is definitely a case of anyone of us knowing better than the duck: duck and cherries go together.
And the reason I mentioned duck is because the making of this cherry vinegar was undeniably duck-induced.
The fact that the cherry season is approaching was certainly part of the reason I stayed up late one night making vinegar, but the main driving force was — believe me — an inexplicable craving for a salad with duck confit.
Using my go-to cranberry vinegar recipe from Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt as the guide, I came up with this sweeter variation.
*Of course, I have to talk to the duck! You think I’m crazy enough to talk to a cherry?
**I tried rice vinegar and didn’t like it. If you like rice vinegar, go for it. Try to stick with colorless vinegars, though, as you want the color of the cherries to come through. I love white balsamic the best.
OMG! This looks and sounds amazing! And I most certainly agree with you about duck confit
Oh, I so have to make this!
Interesting, Cherry and Balsamic…have to look into this. Sounds amazing and the colour is outstanding.
It looks fantastic!
Well, I just happened to have some cherries in the fridge, but not white balsamic, so I just made it with regular balsamic. It’s cooling its heels in the fridge right now, but I did taste it before sealing it up — tangy sweet goodness! I’m looking forward to trying it on a fruit salad (that mango on my kitchen counter is calling). It should also work well with the pork chops in my freezer. Thanks for the idea!
This sounds just amazing, and I’ll have to make it, its certainly cherry season here. I love Linda Arendt – Her 175 Best Jams, Jellies, and Marmalades is a must for me.
Hi Leela, how I’ve been missing on your blog all these while escapes me! I was searching for Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce and I found my way here … thank goodness for that.
Trawled trough your recipes and there are already a few I want to try out. Brilliant photos, great writing. Kudos!
Ju – Not fair. I’ve been a fan of yours! Harrumph.
would plain white vinegar work?
Anonymous – Yeah.
Sounds great, but for REAL cherry vinegar, make cherry wine, dilute to 7% alcohol with water, add a few ounces per gallon RAW ACV (supermarket) as a starter culture, cover loosely & wait 2-3 months.
This vinegar is fake, you just have spicy balsamic vinegar.