This is Fred’s mom, Suzanne’s, recipe. It is an old Belgian Walloon standard—a quick and tasty pickle that is good with pork roast and sausages. You can also mix the “brine” with nut oil as a dressing for beets. And use it to give a welcome buzz to a bland wine sauce: just a drop or two. This pickling solution works well with almost any stone fruit. The amount of liquid you need will vary according to the stone fruit(s) you use. Here, the amount has been geared to 1 pound (455 g) cherries and/or Italian plums. You may need to adjust it if you use other stone fruits. Because we are deathly afraid of preserves gone wrong (from watching an old episode of Quincy, M.E., where the culprit was botulism), we suggest using superclean plastic containers and always refrigerating the preserves.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 2 pints (1 liter)

　　1 pound (455 g) large dark cherries or Italian plums or half cherries and half plums

　　1 cinnamon stick

　　1 bay leaf

　　2 cups (500 ml) white wine vinegar

　　1 cup (250 ml) water

　　1 cup (200 g) packed Demerara or brown sugar

　　

Step 1

Rinse the fruits and wipe dry. Burn the tip of a safety pin briefly to sterilize, then prick each plum about 8 times and each cherry about 4 times.

　　

Step 2

Divide the fruits into your containers of choice and pack tight; divide the cinnamon stick and the bay leaf evenly among the containers.

　　

Step 3

In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and pour over the fruits. Let the fruits temper for about 2 minutes, then cover and promptly place in the fridge.

　　

Step 4

Give the fruits at least a week to pickle properly before serving. They will keep for up to 2 months.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Art of Living According to Joe Beef by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.