A cherry soup with an an exotic flair

by Béa

Cherry soup with ginger, lime and vanilla

Un…deux…trois…Whenever I start eating cherries, I cannot stop.

You?

I am really fond of the fruit.

I love to keep a few cherry pits in my mouth while I go on with my daily activities, and I even forget about them until I decide I need to eat or drink more.

For my entire French family, cherries are really special too.

My grandparents and parents have always owned cherry trees at the back of their houses. Each spring, we enjoyed conversations to guess how good the season would turn, awaiting when the fruit would become ripe.

“Ton père est dans l’arbre entrain de cueillir des cerises,” (Your father is picking cherries in the tree) my mum said a few days ago when I called to ask how they were.

“Je ne sais plus quoi en faire tellement il y en a cette année,” (There are so many this year that I don’t know what to do with them anymore) my father later added.

This year, everyone back home says it happened very early.

With us, cherries would go in jams and tarts; clafoutis and cakes; ice creams and preserves.

My grandmother always liked to poach cherries in syrup. She’d add the fruit to tall glass containers that she’d sterilize attentively. They were what she’d decide to take out of the pantry and serve for dessert with crème fouettée (whipped cream), should unexpected guests stay for dinner. Then, she always gave my mother a few of the preserved fruit, and I remember that we loved to have them when cherry season was over. When we were lucky, they’d last until the next season started.

Thankfully.

Even if to me, the best way to enjoy cherries is to gulp them down one after the other while continuing with my day, I also enjoy to use them in sweet or savory dishes.

Do you remember? In the past years, I’ve used them in clafoutis, with or without chocolate; in amandines and crumbles; salads with shaved fennel and radish; and summery soups.

This recipe is another summery soup, refreshing and light, that highlights the beauty of the fruit.

With accents of vanilla, ginger and lime, I know it’s certainly not the kind my grand-mother would have made since ginger would have been a foreign ingredient to her.

I kept thinking about how recipes evolve. With time, and generations.

I keep thinking how special it is to initiate Lulu to the taste of the soup (there’s some work ahead…) And about how much I wished I could have prepared it for my grandmother if she were still alive.

Maybe she would have liked the taste of Rainier cherries too.

Rainier cherry soup with ginger, vanilla, lime and raspberries

For 4 people

You need:

  • 1 pound Rainier cherries, pitted
  • Plain yogurt or vanilla ice-cream, to serve

For the syrup:

  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1/3 cup (80 g) blond cane sugar
  • 1-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and diced
  • 1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 cup raspberries


Steps:

  • Combine all the syrup ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer, making sure the sugar is dissolved. Stop the heat, cover and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and transfer the syurp to a blender to puree. Strain through a chinois to remove the seeds and transfer to the pot again with the pieces of vanilla bean you previously removed. Reheat.
  • Poach the cherries for 5 to 8 minutes in the warm syrup. Let the cherries cool in the syrup before putting in the fridge. Serve with plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream. But the soup is also delicious on its own.
Posted in Dessert, French Inspired, Fruit, Gluten Free, Soup, Vegetarian

68 comments

  1. beautiful, i love cherries but must confess to really only eating them as is. i must find myself some today: you have made me crave them.

  3. A new cherry recipe is just what I needed. This sounds delicious! A couple of weeks ago I made your cherry clafoutis and loved it. One of my all time favourite cherry recipes is the cherries in red wine syrup from David Lebovitz. You should try it!

  6. Ça a l’air superbe! Un cerisier, j’en rêve… Les cerises sont si chères en ce moment, alors qu’on aimerait en avoir toujours quelques kilos à la maison, pour les picorer toute la journée…

  7. The soup is great but she steals the show for me.. les p’tits boudins:)
    Elle est croquante.
    I have 4 grandsons.. seeing pink is fun..brings back memories of only having daughters.
    I have developed a taste for superhero costumes and sports practices:) I still love tutus though:)
    I like to dress like her:)
    Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos.

  8. Oh yes, a cherry can be something magical. Nearby my house there’s a small farm where they sell a few baskets of them. And boy they are sweet! I Like the idea of conserving them for the other months.. And I like the idea for this recipe too, will give it a try!

  10. So pretty. . . . I live in cherry country, no word on how all the rain we’ve had will affect this years crop. I have to wait till mid July for them! When you cook/bake with cherries, do you leave in the pits?

  12. This reminds me of my first trip to France when I was 16. We brought gifts for the host families we were staying with in the village of Guewenheim, and wanted to bring them something that was representative of our region. I’m from Michigan, a big cherry-producing state, so we brought jars of Michigan cherry preserves. Imagine our dismay to see a large cherry tree in the family’s backyard!

    Our hosts were, of course, gracious about it. But ever since then, when referring to something redundant or unnecessary, instead of using the phrase “bringing coals to Newcastle”, my friend and I say “bringing cherries to Alsace”!

  13. Love this combination of flavors! Ginger is such a fantastic ingredient. It’s so much fun to put a twist on old recipes, keeps your palate alive.

  14. Beautiful story! I’m the same way, when I have a bowl of cherries, I cannot stop until the last pit.
    Back in Russia, we too had our own cherry trees and they always behaved differently depending on the season.

  15. When I was a child I always helped my dad picking cherries. They looked as ruby. I’ve just made clafoutis, and then wrote about it in my blog. I’d love to taste your soup, and to let you taste my clafoutis 🙂

  16. Wonderful insight to cherry picking and eating in your family. Grandmothers are just so special aren’t they? For me, it wasn’t my grandmother that left me with memories as much as her maid who cared for us much more often. I just love the clarity in that very last photo.

  18. Bea your story and post is beautiful!

    And recipes evolving and showing your daughter the recipes you had and grew up with…my daughter is 4.5 yrs and I try to do the same with her.

    And I adore cherries, too!

  19. Just made a cherry clafoutis 😉
    When I start eating cherries like that, I can’t stop, they’re so good!
    Beautiful post!

  20. I love how you trace the evolution of family recipes and traditions. Cherries have the same magic at my house. I have Italian family, not French, but we just harvested the magical sweet cherries from their vineyard last week in Piedmont (we were visiting from San Francisco) and I posted about all picking cherries together. So special. Finally, I have to say that I laughed at your daughter with the baby. My daughter, about the same age, has the exact same baby (I think) and adores it.

  24. What a different way to enjoy these delicious summer treats! Thanks for sharing. Any tips on how to “pit” a cherry without completely butchering it?

  27. I have never ever imagined cherries in a soup! How interesting. Wondering how you pit them? That can always be tough.

  28. Hello everyone,

    Thanks again for your words.

    As to pitting the cherries, the good news is that there exists device for you to do so: check this link here

  30. In Washington state we dry them – has your family tried that as another preserving method? Then you can make things like lemon pound cake with dried cherries, mmm! Cherry fruit leather is great too, but way too easy to eat, so it likely wouldn’t last til the next harvest…

  31. Love cherries when I can get them 🙂 That soup looks gorgeous and I so enjoy your stories from childhood that revolve around family and food (and of course, France!)!

  35. I’m so amazing by the beauty of your pictures ! Everytime I’m watching them, I fell transported in an other word. They make your receipes apetizing. Which kind of camera do you use ? do you use a software of improvement ?
    Anyway, I’m exciting to discover your new recipes each time I received your newsletter. Thanks so much !

  36. Sorry for the awkward style of my comment. (I’m a French)
    Here is the corrected version : I’m amazed by the beauty of your pictures. Evevery time I look at them, I get carried away into another world. Your photos make your receipes really appetizing. Which kind of camera do you use ? Do you use software to retouch photos ?
    I’m excited to discover your new recipes every time I receiv your newsletter.
    Thank you so much

  38. this morning i’ve cooked this recipe for lunch and it was very very very tasty (i found local cherries saturday in the market of Metz, but the merchant didn’t know what sort it was… the fruits were red and yellow)
    I like “red fruit” soup very much !
    Thank you so much
    dominique (from Moselle)

  39. I must confess I’ve never had fruit soup or cold soup, mostly because the idea seems so strange (doesn’t tend to stop me with other things though….). This recipe sounds delicious though and I may have to try it. Thanks!

  40. I’ve been absolutely obsessed with cherries this summer! Clafoutis, cherries in salad, cherries with a handful of almonds… everything I’ve done with them has been divine!

    I am however, completely intrigued by cherry soup. I’ll have to give it a try! =)

    MuffinLovesBiscuit

  42. Thank you everyone.

    Dom, I am really happy to hear. Thanks for letting me know.

    Fabienne, I use a Canon 1 D Mark 4. PS for postprocessing.

  43. While I was traveling and visiting friends this weekend, I showed them this page and recipe and they made it for me! So I can’t claim I made it and it worked. But I can claim that I got friends hooked on your site and we all agreed that the recipe works very well. We had a great time cooking and eating… bien sûr!

    David

  44. So happy to hear Frenchie and the Yankee! Really glad you enjoyed.

  45. LOVE cherries! Such a wonderful fruit – I love making savory sauces with them, especially to go with Duck or Pork.

  47. wow, i am just getting into fruit soups and i am very intrigued with this! especially the touches of ginger and lime. what a fantastic way to use cherries.

  49. This looks wonderful! How long does the cherry soup last in the fridge? Thank you!

  50. Cassy, we ate the leftovers the next day. Delicious and refreshing. I would think a few days (2 to 3) is good.

  53. that looks so tasty, a really great dish for summer. I think my son would love it. He eats cherries by the handful 😉

  54. Sounds like refreshing summer dish. Also great if you go cherry picking and have more than enough to spare!

  55. A handful of cherries contribute a good dose of antioxidants and potassium, nutrients that help to maintain the arterial tension. Cherries are delicate fruits, with a limited season life, they are in season late from middle May to early summer days

  57. What a lovely blog you have! I am so happy to have discovered it, certainly adding it to my favorites…..and cherries in the summer! Is there anything better?

  58. I love cherries and I never knew you could make a soup with them, this is definitely something to try and I might just do that while they’re in season.

  59. Pingback: A cherry soup with an an exotic flair | NuzaRazzi

  60. Hey! Could you recommend good dish netshops which sends worldwide? Sorry for my bad english. Have a nice weekend!

  61. hmm. des cerises. definitivement le fruit le plus sensuel de l’été. en particulier lorsque mises en photos par la tartine gourmande.. 🙂

  62. Un dessert qui me fait bien envie! Les cerises dégustées sur l’arbre c’est vraiment un plaisir authentique!

  64. Pingback: A photo and the recipe of Nigel Slater’s classic cherry clafoutis « Calogero Mira, Food and Recipes

  65. Pingback: Healthy Summer Dishes with Cherry Fruit | FaveDietsBlog

  66. This cherry soup sounds scrumptious ! I love hearing about your grandmother,and the delicious cuisine that she made.These cherries make me think of a Bed and Breakfast that I stayed in,out in the country,near St.Remy.The kind lady that owned it with her husband,makes her own jams from the fruit in her garden.She makes cherry,strawberry,and apricot jams,and only cooks them for five minutes,so that they retain their maximum flavor and color.Ils sont tres jolie comme votre photographs du fruits ! Merci beaucoup de parteger avec nous !!! Que Dieu vous benise !

  67. The photos are indeed amazing!
    I love cherries, especially this particular sort, it’s so sweet and refreshing!
    I’m sure the cherry soup is delicious, I’ll try to cook it in summer.
    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  68. This sounds absolutely delicious! It combines so many of my favorite things into one delightful. Can’t wait to make it.