Easy Black Cherry and Sour Cherry Combination Pie Filling

Why You'll Love This Black Cherry & Sour Cherry Combination Pie Filling

• It takes 10 minutes to make
• It's so easy, even your kiddos can make it
• You can use frozen or fresh cherries
• It's a make-ahead-and-freeze cherry pie filling
• There are no preservatives, and it doesn't taste like a tin can
• Using two varieties of cherries (sour cherries and dark sweet cherries_ balances the flavor extremely well so this works in almost any cherry recipe
• Uses my favorite flavor boosting secret ingredients: fresh lime juice, a hint of almond extract, and a tiny pinch of cinnamon intensifies the cherry flavor

Using Fresh or Frozen Cherries to Make Cherry Pie Filling

Not everyone has access to fresh cherries where they live. For this recipe, I've used a combination of frozen unsweetened sour cherries and frozen dark sweet black cherries in approximately 2:1 ratio (2:sour to 1:black sweet cherries).

Using frozen cherries has its benefits because there's no need to wash or pit them before you get started. But you'll need to make sure you buy cherries without added sugar.

The combination of sweet cherries and sour cherries in this recipe creates a really well-balanced tart and sweet cherry pie filling (with excellent flavor). And definitely, feel free to use fresh cherries when they're in season. I use fresh cherries when they're in season, and they produce the same delicious results.

Dark Sweet Cherry & Sour Cherry Combination Pie Filling Ingredients

With just a few ingredients, you can have homemade cherry pie filling that's so much better than store-bought, and you know exactly what's in it (and more importantly, what's NOT)!

• 12 ½ ounces (or about 3 cups) sour cherries, fresh or frozen (350g)
• 7 ounces (about 1 cup) dark sweet cherries (200g)
• ¾ cup pure cane sugar (or granulated sugar) (165g)
• 1 teaspoon lime juice, freshly squeezed (6g)
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch (16g)
• ⅛ teaspoon pure almond extract (approximately 3 drops)
• 1 pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)

How To Make Black Cherry & Sour Cherry Combination Pie Filling (From Scratch)

This cherry pie filling takes (literally) just a few minutes to prepare. And because the cherries cook for such a minimal amount of time, they maintain an intense cherry flavor that we think you're going to love.

Step 1. Cook the cherries to release some of their juices. Add cherries, lime juice, sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon to a saucepot and cook over medium heat just until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries release some of their juice (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and pour off approximately ¼ to ½ cup cherry juice into a small prep bowl.

Step 2. Prepare the cornstarch slurry. Add cornstarch to the small bowl with the cherry juice mixture and use a spoon or fork to mash and stir the cornstarch until no visible lumps or flecks of cornstarch remain; set aside.

How to Make a Better Cornstarch Slurry for Homemade Pie Filling

Most recipes call for a cornstarch slurry made from combining water and cornstarch, but I try to avoid this when making any kind of fruit pie filling.

The reason is that I don't want to dilute any of the fruit's natural flavor. It may be a fanatical approach, but this is the only way I make them. Try it for yourself and you'll taste why!

Beyond the flavor, you'll need to make sure your pie filling is lump-free. Here's everything you need to know to make a lump-free pie filling:

Always add cornstarch to a cool or cold liquid (never hot) and stir it until no streaks or lumps remain.

Lastly, always remember that a cool or cold slurry added to a hot liquid = no lumps. For instance, in this recipe, you remove about a ¼ cup of the cherry-sugar-lime juice mixture from the heat after cooking it for just 2 minutes.

At this point, the cherries will have released enough juice to use for the slurry (no water needs to be added!), and the cherry mixture isn't yet hot. So, when you add the cool/cold slurry to an almost-boiling cherry mixture later on, it incorporates seamlessly and gives you a lump-free dark cherry pie filling every time.

Why I Have Two Different Cherry Pie Filling Recipes

If you've seen my Ultimate Sour Cherry Pie Filling Recipe (10-Minutes, Homemade) post, then you know this sweeter darker black cherry pie filling recipe is I like to use the all-sour cherry pie filling for lots of recipes like fried pies.

But sometimes a sweeter (less tart) cherry flavor works better for desserts like my favorite Marie Callender's copycat cherry crunch pie recipe). Below, you'll find a few of our favorite ways to use either of these delicious homemade cherry pie fillings plus some other recipes you may want to try!

Cherry FAQ's & a Few Interesting Facts

1. It's believed that the sweet cherry originated in the area between the Black and Caspian Seas in Asia Minor around 70 B.C. The Romans introduced them to Britain in the first century A.D.
2. Marostica, Italy (about 20 minutes from where we live in the province of Vicenza), (Veneto) is a medieval town in the hills where you'll find the Ciliegia di Marostica, or "Marostica cherry". This cherry was the first to be awarded a Typical Geographical Indication in 2001. There are two main varieties of cherries grown here:  sweet (or "duracine") and sour ("lustine tenerine"). Since 2006 the Cherry of Marosica has been protected and promoted by a consortium.
3. Tart cherries are very juicy and pleasantly acidic which makes them perfect for baking, making beverages and condiments, preserves, and more.
4. Dark sweet cherries are perfect for use in combination with tart cherries or eating raw, using in cocktails and juices, and for making marinades, etc.
5. Some of the top cherry-producing countries in the world are Turkey, USA, Iran & Italy, but lots of other countries are known for their high-quality cherries like Poland and Ukraine.
6. Tart cherries are classified into two main groups, amarelle and morello.
   • the amarelle variety has only red skin, but not red flesh
   • the morello variety has both red skin and red flesh

Cherries Around the World

In Italy, we have access to the geographically protected (IGP) tart and dark sweet Amarena Italian Marostica cherries. 

In China, I could find the special Wenchuan area highland sour cherry, which has been given its own "preserved agricultural geography" status by the government (similar to the honor given to the Italian Marostica cherries by the Italian government).

Growing up in Arkansas, we had a single sour cherry tree in our back yard. And nowadays you can frozen cherries in just about any grocery store which make this recipe for homemade cherry pie filling as easy as ever.