By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(123)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Many versions of cold cherry soup originated in Hungary and Poland, where cooks would use sour cherries and a lot of sugar. Traditional cherry soups also are made with sour cream and heavy cream, and sometimes they are thickened with flour. I like this lighter version, which is made with drained yogurt instead of cream.
Featured in: A Short Season for Cherries
Learn: How to Make Soup
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves six to eight
- 5cups water
- ½cup sugar
- ½cup red wine
- ¼teaspoon salt
- Grated zest of ½ lemon
- 1½pounds sweet, dark cherries
- 1cup drained yogurt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
147 calories; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 96 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Pit the cherries, and place the pitted cherries in a bowl and the pits in a large soup pot. Add the water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer five minutes. With a skimmer, remove the pits from the water. Add the sugar, red wine, salt and lemon zest, and bring back to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil five minutes, then add the cherries. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer five minutes. Remove from the heat.
Step
2
Place the yogurt in a large bowl and slowly whisk in a cup of the liquid from the soup once it is no longer simmering. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add the rest of the soup, and whisk or stir until smooth. Allow to cool, stirring from time to time, then refrigerate until cold. Before serving, you will have to stir or whisk again, as the liquid and yogurt will separate. Still, the soup is easily hom*ogenized.
Step
3
Serve in bowls or in glass tumblers. If you wish, garnish with additional halved, pitted fresh cherries.
Tip
- Advance preparation: The soup will keep for two or three days in the refrigerator. (I found myself snacking on the leftovers -- very refreshing on a hot summer day.)
Ratings
4
out of 5
123
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Cooking Notes
Leah
I grew up on Hungarian cold cherry soup that my grandmother and mother made. This version is good. I like the yogurt and red wine addition but I made it with sour cherries (which can be hard to find. You need a tree or a friend with a tree). Even with the sour cherries it was a bit sweet so I would cut the sugar to about ½ or ⅔. Also, adding a cinnamon stick and/or cloves while cooking (then removing them after cooking) gives it a wonderful additional flavor.
Monika Blaumueller
A much easier way to do this is to start with a jar of tart Morello Cherries (Trader Joe's are ideal). Simmer the juice long enough to infuse the cinnamon. Work in your dairy, whether that's yogurt, frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream or cream. Then add red wine.
Sosimusz
The recipe has a major flaw: it misses the part that the soup is made of SOUR cherries (Prunus cerasus), not normal ones. That's why it ended up too sweet.
aga
I grew up eating this in Poland. Nice to see it on this app. i thought it was a super unique recipe that many folks in Poland dont actually even know about. It can be made with other fruits - my family enjoys strawberry zupa or plum. The latter is probably the best ;)
Terri Ingrsm
Instead of yogurt, whisk together 1/4 cup corn starch, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup cream. Slowly add thickening to cherries stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking briefly. Remove from heat. Optional add a few drops almond extract, dash of Brandy, sprinkle of cinnamon.
Keri
I was drawn in by the beautiful photo and made a half-batch of this yesterday just to try; it was very tasty! I heeded the reviews that suggested less sugar and only ended up using about 1/2 TBSP. Also added a cinnamon stick at the stage where you add the red wine, lemon zest, etc. and left it in until the end of cooking. We ate it as a light dessert and it was a hit.
LindaN
It is not clear to me if this is a starter or belongs in the dessert category, but the color is stunning in the table!
aga
I grew up eating this in Poland. Nice to see it on this app. i thought it was a super unique recipe that many folks in Poland dont actually even know about. It can be made with other fruits - my family enjoys strawberry zupa or plum. The latter is probably the best ;)
gsd99kjd
This soup was a hit, but with two modifications: I used half the sugar, and puréed the cherries after boiling (with some of the liquid) and added to the soup. Seemed a shame to waste them.
Cherry pits not enough
I tried to make this recipe, but instead of using cherries, I used the pits left after I pitted them for a pie. It was not very good, there was not enough cherry flavor. I won't make this recipe again.
camelsamba
If you only used pits, you didn't make this recipe. Step 1 includes this line: "Boil five minutes, then add the cherries."
Holly
As others have mentioned, this is a scrumptious recipe, but try it without the sugar and add only as needed. I used Michigan cherries, which are very sweet and, as it was the first time making this recipe, I added the 1/2 C sugar. Wow, dessert sweet. We put it away for breakfast. We will make this again, skipping the added sugar.
Jack
Making this with 3 jars - 24.7 oz each of dark morello cherries from Trader Joe's, plus 1 lb fresh Rainier cherries, pitted, 1/4 cup sugar, 6 cups of water 3/4 cup red wine, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, cloves and a few crushed juniper berries to provide some contrast. Right now, a nice tartness. Will taste after chilling and add sugar if needed.Will mix in some sour cream.
RhoRho
I had to use frozen pitted cherries, and it turned out to be delicious. Definitely better with a pinker color if you can refriferate it overnight or even two nights.
Sara
Question- do you chop or puree the cherries? At what point in the recipe?
Monika Blaumueller
A much easier way to do this is to start with a jar of tart Morello Cherries (Trader Joe's are ideal). Simmer the juice long enough to infuse the cinnamon. Work in your dairy, whether that's yogurt, frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream or cream. Then add red wine.
Maggie Levenstein
I used frozen sour cherries and 1/3 cup sugar. Was delicious.
JLDM
Consider 1/2 or 2/3 of called for sugar
Alfreda - South Africa
my mother made cold cherry soup decades ago - it was a favourite every year when cherries came into season (in South Africa that is November). The soup always had cream and cinnamon sticks, and was slightly thickened with tapioca. Wonderful tasty memories!
Leah
I grew up on Hungarian cold cherry soup that my grandmother and mother made. This version is good. I like the yogurt and red wine addition but I made it with sour cherries (which can be hard to find. You need a tree or a friend with a tree). Even with the sour cherries it was a bit sweet so I would cut the sugar to about ½ or ⅔. Also, adding a cinnamon stick and/or cloves while cooking (then removing them after cooking) gives it a wonderful additional flavor.
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