140 Cherry Pudding [Kirsikkakiisseli] Medieval Kitchen:  Recipes from France & Italy,  Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi, Patricia gl Smith  208

 Chireseye. To make chireseye, take cherries at the Feast of St. John the Baptist and remove the pits. Grind them in a mortar, and then press them hard through a sieve to extract all their juice; and put this in a pot and put in good fat or butter and good white bread, plenty of sugar, and some wine. And when it is thick and served up on plates, stud it with cloves and sprinkle with sugar. (Ds HB 77)

There are few sweet dishes in our French sources, and even they contain only miserly amounts of sugar. But while in fourteenth-century France this "spice" performed a therapeutic function in dishes for invalids, it was already counted among the standard ingredients in Italy and, especially, in England. Hence, we offer this cherry pudding from an English source. Its lovely translucent red color and its texture helped us to understand the Anglo-Saxon taste for the brightly colored, quivering gelatin desserts that Britons and Americans enjoy to this day. But unlike those startling feats of modern chemistry, this creamy pudding is absolutely delicious. We have prepared it with normal dark cherries and red wine, but it could also be made with sour cherries; in that case, use a little extra sugar and a good-quality rose wine so as not to darken their bright color.
 

140 Cherry Pudding

Imperial	Metric	Ingredient
1 ½ pounds	1 kg	ripe cherries
2	2	slices dry white bread
scant ½ cup	100 g (1 ¼ dl )	sugar
1 tablespoon	1 tablespoon	sugar for garnish
1 ½  tablespoon	1 ½  tablespoon	butter
5 fl. ounces	1 ½ dl	good red wine, such as a Bordeaux or other cabernet sauvignon
some	some	whole cloves for garnish

• Stem and pit the cherries, puree them in a blender or food processor, then strain in a fine sieve, pressing hard. to extract as much juice as possible.

• Remove the crusts from the bread, and cut the bread into small dice.

• In a heavy saucepan, combine the bread, cherry juice, wine, sugar, and butter. Bring to the boil and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and the bread falls apart and swells, binding the dessert into a creamy pudding.

• Turn into a serving bowl and chill well. Stud the top with cloves, forming a design of your own choice. Refrigerate until served. Just before serving, sprinkle the top with sugar.

Don’t forget to warn your guests that the cloves are there for decoration only. Some people will eat anything rather than insult the cook!