Sour Cherry Syrup

Homemade sour cherry syrup is the taste of summer sealed in a bottle – ruby red, pleasantly tart-sweet, and much better than any shop-bought drink.

1. Wash the sour cherries thoroughly, and stone them – catch the juice that runs out during stoning too.

2. Put them in a pot with the water, and cook them tender, until the fruit falls completely apart.

3. Pass it through a sieve or blend it, then strain it through a fine sieve, to get a clear, stone-free juice.

4. Put the juice back on the heat with the sugar and the citric acid, and bring it to the boil.

5. Boil it for a few minutes, until it thickens slightly and the sugar dissolves completely.

6. Pour it, hot, into clean, sterilised bottles, and seal them at once.

Tip: Diluted it is excellent as a soft drink, and undiluted drizzled over ice cream.