By Jessie Lehail,
Special to The Post

As an old school technique born out of the pre-refrigeration era, pickling conjures up happy thoughts about simplicity and home. There was an entire summer when I focused on learning the art of pickling and canning. I learned the basics, made many mistakes, but my takeaway was a revival of nostalgic interests.
You can use fresh Bing (dark sweet) cherries or frozen ones for this recipe. Bing cherries are the sweet, deep red, heart-shaped variety that you see in supermarkets. Sweet and tart at the same time, the seasonings in the pickling stop just short of overpowering the cherries.
The recipe is open-ended: you can trim the cherry stems, or not; pit them, or not. The cherries are prettier if you leave the pits in, and the pits add a nice, slightly almond flavour to the brine.
As the pickles mature for a week or so, the vinegar and spices deepen to produce a sweet, sour, spiced pickled cherry that is delicious. Add them to your cheese platter or ploughman’s lunch, or use as an accompaniment to grilled or roasted pork, turkey, and chicken. Add to a salad, make the cherry bruschetta listed below, or eat them straight out of the jar. 
An added bonus is you can use the leftover pickle liquid in a dressing. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil, Himalayan pink salt, and the pickling liquid for an easy vinaigrette..   

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 1 inch piece of ginger, cut into chunks
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 chili 
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 pound fresh or frozen cherries      

In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, salt, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, and chili. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let steep 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Place cherries in a 1-quart (4-cup) glass canning jar. Pour in enough vinegar mixture to cover cherries and almost completely fill the jar; you can either strain out the whole spices or place them in the jar (I recommend the latter). Allow the jar to cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. 

Pickled Cherry Bruschetta
 
• 1/2 baguette, sliced 1/2-inch thick, toasted
• 1/3 cup whipped Greek yogurt cream cheese
• ½ cup pickled cherries, pitted and halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for drizzling
• Himalayan pink salt 

Drizzle toast with oil, spread with cream cheese, and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Top with cherries. Drizzle with more oil, if desired.

Jessie Lehail is the author of Indian Influence, a food blog that takes global eats and reinterprets them with a South Asian influence. Visit her blog at www.indianinfluence.ca.