Nostradamus’s Cherry Jelly
Deep red sour cherry jelly that just feels fancy
City/Region: France
Time Period: 1552
Better known today for his prophecies, Nostrdamus worked as a doctor and wrote a treatise that included recipes for cosmetics and food. He included two recipes for cherry jelly. The first is fit to serve to a prince, and the second is “more delicate and expensive than the previous one, and for use only by the nobility”. How the less good version is fit for a prince and the better one is fit for nobility doesn’t make any sense, but that’s what he wrote.
Sour cherries are very expensive, and while the jelly is quite good, I’m not sure if it’s worth it unless you live somewhere where sour cherries grow and are a little cheaper. The jelly is a little softer than modern versions and is a beautiful deep red. You get the sour cherry flavor, then the sweetness comes in to mellow it. It certainly feels very fancy as it’s less sweet than jellies we have today and tastes like you’re eating the essence of cherries.
“Another method of making a jelly from cherries which is more delicate and expensive than the previous one, and for use only by the nobility.
Take two pounds of the best sugar, pound it and put it into a pan. Next take six, seven or eight pounds of cherries, remove the stalks, squeeze them with your clean hands and put them in the pan with the sugar. Place on the fire to boil until half. When they are so boiled, strain them through a tight, clean linen cloth, squeezing them. Take what has come out and boil in another pan on a low fire…You will know when it is ready if you allow a drop to fall on a marble slab, it should remain a stiff round drop…The drop will be as vermilion as a fine Claret Wine. Put it into small jars of glass, and when cooled, you will have a type of dark jelly, of which it would be impossible to find a more beautiful, better or more excellent example. ”
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 lbs (1.5 kg) fresh sour cherries*
- 1 lb (450 g) sugar
*Nostradamus says to use Amarena cherries, but they can be hard to find fresh and are very expensive. Another sour cherry is best, but use whatever you can find.
Instructions:
- Add the sugar to a pot. Take the stems off the cherries. Squish the cherries with your hands and drop them into the sugar, pits and all. Be sure to be careful and wear an apron because the cherry juice will get everywhere. Don’t wear a white shirt that you really love because it will be ruined and you will be sad.
- Set the pot over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it’s reduced by about half. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool until it’s still warm, but cool enough to handle.
- Put on some gloves if you have them. Put a pudding cloth or piece of calico over a large bowl (don’t use cheesecloth for this). Spoon half the cherry mixture into the cloth, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Repeat with the other half. Discard the pits and skins leftover in the cloth.
- Put the juice into another pot and set it over low heat. You want it to kind of steam, not come to a full simmer. After about 35 to 40 minutes, put a drop on your countertop or a plate. If it retains its shape, it’s done.
- Pour the jelly into small glass jars. Use sterilized jars if you’re planning on keeping the jelly for more than a few days. Let it cool for at least 12 hours.
- Serve it forth spread on some nice French bread or by whichever means of jelly conveyance you prefer.