Take two pounds of morella cherries, when not too ripe, but finely coloured, weighed with their stalks and stones. Put a quart of water and twelve ounces of double-refined sugar into a preserving-pan, and set it over a clear charcoal fire. Let it boil a quarter of an hour; skim it clean, and set it by till cold. Then take away the stalks and stones, and, when the syrup is quite cold, put the stoned cherries into the syrup, set them over a gentle fire, and let them barely simmer till their skins begin to rise. Take them from the fire; pour them into a basin; cut a piece of paper round of the size of the basin; lay it close upon the cherries while hot, and let them stand so till next day. Set a hair sieve in a pan, and pour the cherries into it; let them drain till the syrup is all drained out: boil the syrup till reduced to two-thirds, and set it aside till cold. Put your cherries into a glass jar; put to them a spoonful of their own syrup and one of brandy, and continue to do so till the jar is filled within two inches of the top: then put over it a wet bladder, and a piece of leather over that; tie it down close, and keep it in a warm place.
If you do not mind the stones, merely cut off the stalks of the cherries.
Brandy Cherries.
To each bottle of brandy add half a pound of white sugar-candy: let this dissolve; cut the large ripe morella cherries from the tree into a glass or earthen jar, leaving the stalks about half the original length. When the jar is full, pour upon the cherries the brandy as above. Let the fruit be completely covered, and fill it up as the liquor settles. Cork the jar, and tie a leather over the top. Apricot kernels blanched and put in are an agreeable addition.
Cherries, to dry.
Stone the cherries, and to ten pounds when stoned put three pounds of sugar finely beaten. Shake the cherries and sugar well together; when the sugar is quite dissolved, give them a boil or two over a slow fire, and put them in an earthen pot. Next day scald them, lay them on a sieve, and dry them in the sun, or in a oven, not too hot. Turn them till they are dry enough, then put them up; but put no paper.
Liquor for dried Cherries.
Take some red currants, and boil them in water till it is very red; then put it to your cherries and sugar it; this makes them of a good colour.