MAKES TWO 1-PINT/500-ML JARS
Lassoed just inside the Castilla y León border with Galicia, the area of Bierzo is particularly fertile. At the end of cherry season, cerezas and their smaller, more acidic counterparts called guindas are preserved in aguardiente (alcohol distilled from pressed grape skins, like Italian grappa; see page 317 for more on this spirit). The fruits’ flavors deepen and soften over the summer and autumn months, and are ready to be enjoyed during the round of Christmas festivities and throughout Bierzo’s rainy, foggy winter months. Sipped, the liquid is smooth, vaguely sweet, flavorful. But, be warned—bite into one of the cherries, where the alcohol has concentrated, and it feels like your mouth is on fire.
Sometimes these cherries are more than an adult aid to digestion following a heavy meal. I’ve met grandmothers in the region who give a cherry to their grandchildren when they have a stomachache. Does it work? I asked one. She replied, “Well, if it doesn’t, at least they’ll go to sleep.”
1. Rinse and then gently wipe the cherries with a clean kitchen cloth and let dry completely. Clip the stems ½> inch/1.25 cm above the fruit. (The stem will keep the inside of the cherry from turning mushy.)
2. Into each of two 1-pint/500-ml sterilized wide-mouthed glass canning jars, place 3 coffee beans and 1 cinnamon stick. (The broken halves should lay flat in the bottom of the jar.) Add the cherries one by one, jiggling the jar to settle them close together without mashing or damaging. (Leave enough space at the top to be able to cover with the aguardiente.) Into each jar, sprinkle ¼ cup/50 g of the sugar and then pour in about 1¼ cups/300 ml of the aguardiente or enough to completely cover the cherries.
3. Tightly screw the lids closed and invert the jars. Turn them gently back and forth until the sugar is largely dissolved.
4. Store in a dry, cool, and dark place for 6 months, or until the liquid takes on a characteristic brown color.
5. To serve, spoon out a couple of cherries into a glass dessert bowl or cocktail glass. Strain some liquid through a paper filter into each glass.
