Sour Cherry Syrup

Ingredients

• 6 1/2 lbs fresh sour cherries, stemmed and pitted or 4 1/2 lbs pitted unsweetened frozen sour cherries
• 11 cups sugar
• 5 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 6 limes)

Directions

1. 1

   Puree the cherries in a blender or food processor in small batches. Run juice through a fine sieve, pressing hard to extract all the juice.

2. 2

   In a large saucepan, mix cherry juice with sugar, water and lime juice and bring to a boil, stirring consistently, until sugar dissolves.

3. 3

   Cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes, skimming off the foam that rises to the top with a slotted spoon.

4. 4

   Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring and skimming, until syrupy, about 1 hour.

5. 5

   Strain the syrup into jars and let cool completely before storing.