Do you want to incorporate fresh cherries into everything in the summertime? With this homemade Cherry Syrup, you can! From drinks to ice cream to pancakes, you can add delicious cherry flavor to everything!
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Is there anymore more fleeting than fresh cherry season? While I wish cherry season could be all year long, I also kind of love that we only get to enjoy fresh cherries just a couple months a year and they give us just one more thing to love about summer.
Once cherry season hits, I try to find as many ways possible to enjoy it. That means eating A LOT of fresh cherries, as well as incorporating them into cooking, baking, and cocktails.
And now with this cherry syrup, I can add fresh cherry flavor to SO many things, including ice cream, oatmeal, salad dressing, and more!
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you can't get enough cherries in the summer, you're definitely going to want to make this recipe!
It's incredibly easy to make and can keep fresh in your fridge for about a month. And once it's made, you can drizzle it on so many things or incorporate it into so many different cocktails.
Oh, and bonus for the fact that you don't even have to pit the cherries!
🗒 Ingredients
You only need 3 ingredients to make this fresh cherry syrup, including:
- Water
- Granulated Sugar
- Fresh Cherries
🍒 How to make cherry syrup
Like I mentioned, you don't even have to pit the cherries to make this syrup. You can if you want to, but... who actually wants to pit cherries??
All you have to do is put all the ingredients (water, sugar, and cherrie)s in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat and let mixture simmer for about 15 minutes.
At this point, the cherries should be bursting and the mixture will have thickened a bit (it will thicken even more as it cools).
Now, strain the syrup into a bowl, pressing down on the cherries with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much juice as possible.
You can either keep the syrup in the bowl or pour it into a mason jar. I like mason jars because they come with covers!
Pop it in the fridge to chill.
Once cooled, you can use it however you want. This cherry syrup is perfectly sweet and tastes just like fresh cherries... It's a little jar of summer heaven for me!
I love that this is one of the few cherry recipes that can be made without even having to pit the fruit!
👩🍳 How to use
Though chances are you'll want to use that spoon to drizzle the cherry syrup right into your mouth, you might want to save some for other uses. I have lots of ideas for how you can utilize this syrup! Here are some:
- Cocktails: Cherry cocktails are the BEST and this syrup makes it so easy to add cherry flavor to the drink of your choice. I love using it in margaritas and mojitos, but it's also great in a simple vodka soda or gin and tonic.
- Homemade cherry soda: You could also simply add a little to some seltzer water and have an instant cherry soda! Or add it into Coke, Dr. Pepper, or Sprite, for an easy cherry version of those drinks. These drinks are perfect for both kids and adults.
- Tea flavoring: Drizzle a little of this syrup into hot tea or iced tea for an instant summer tea.
- Pancake, waffle, or french toast topping: Instead of maple syrup, use cherry syrup on your favorite breakfast items.
- Yogurt or oatmeal topping: If plain yogurt and oatmeal are a bit bland for your tastes, simply drizzle some cherry syrup over them.
- Ice cream topping: Cherry syrup is delicious drizzled over vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and pretty much any flavor in between (except for mint!).
- Salad dressing ingredient: Use this syrup to add a little bit of sweetness and cherry flavor into your homemade salad dressings.
- Meat marinade: You can easily incorporate this syrup into your meat marinades to add some sweet cherry flavor. This is especially delicious with steak and fish.
- Frosting flavoring: You can drizzle some into your homemade buttercream frosting for a light cherry flavor.
- Cake moistener: Lots of bakers use simple syrup to add moisture and flavor to cakes and this cherry syrup would make the most delicious cake moistener, especially with vanilla or chocolate cake.
I told you there's a lot you can do with this! But I'm sure you can think of even more ideas.
⏲ How to store
You should always store your homemade syrups in the fridge in an airtight container. When stored properly, the syrup should stay fresh for at least a month.
I like to store syrup in these 16 oz. mason jars or 8 oz. jars (what you see in these photos). Though note that this recipe makes slightly more than a cup, so if you use the small jars, you will have a little bit extra.
🧊 Can I use frozen cherries?
Yes, you can! I try to use fresh whenever I can, but if you can't get them, you can certainly use frozen cherries.
You probably won't need to simmer the syrup for a full 15 minutes if using frozen fruit; 10 should be just fine.
💡 Variations on recipe
I love this recipe as is, but there's also so much you can do with it to mix it up a bit and add more flavors. Here are some ideas:
- Herbs: Add fresh mint, basil, thyme, or rosemary into the syrup as it's simmering.
- Jalapeño: Simmer jalapeño slices into the syrup for a little kick.
- Lime juice: Squeeze fresh-squeezed lime juice into the syrup when you remove it from the heat.
- Vanilla: Add a vanilla bean to the syrup when you pour it into the jar.
- Almond: It's said that almond flavor can enhance the flavor of cherries, so try adding a little almond extract into the syrup after removing it from the heat.
🛍 Where to buy
This recipe is so easy to make, but if you can't get fresh cherries or would just prefer to purchase a bottle of shelf stable cherry syrup, there are tons of options. Here are a few:
- Torani Cherry Syrup
- Monin Cherry Syrup
- 1883 Maison Routin Cherry Syrup
- DaVinci Sugar-Free Cherry Syrup
- Collins Cherry Cocktail Syrup
🥤More simple syrup recipes
Did you know you can make syrups in pretty much any flavor you want? I have a huge selection of homemade syrups on my website, but some of my favorites include:
And you can add this cherry syrup to my list of favorites! I'll be enjoying it long after cherry season ends!
📖 Recipe
Cherry Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup fresh cherries
Instructions
- Put water, sugar, and cherries in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat and let mixture simmer for about 15 minutes until cherries are bursting and mixture has thickened.
- Strain syrup into a bowl, pressing down on the cherries with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much juice as possible.
- Keep syrup in bowl or pour into a mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely before using. Syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
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