Equipment
Ingredients
Soup Base
- 500 g sweet cherries, pitted, fresh or frozen
- 250 ml fruity red wine
- 50 g caster sugar
- 300 g mango, peeled and diced
- 30 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 227 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 46 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 39 g
- Sodium
- 4 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Potassium
- 492 mg
- Calcium
- 31 mg
- Iron
- 0.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 29 mg
- Phosphorus
- 52 mg
- Zinc
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 44 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 38 mg
- Vitamin E
- 0.8 mg
- Vitamin K
- 6 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.07 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.09 mg
- Niacin
- 0.8 mg
- Folate
- 39 mcg
- Water
- 226 g
- Alcohol
- 7 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
In a medium saucepan, combine the pitted cherries, fruity red wine, and caster sugar. Stir briefly to dissolve the sugar into the liquid.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer at around 90 Celsius or 194 Fahrenheit. Cook for 10 minutes until the cherries have softened slightly and the wine has reduced.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Allow the cherry and wine mixture to sit at room temperature to cool down before blending.
Transfer the cooled cherry mixture into a blender. Add the diced mango and fresh lime juice. Blend on high speed for at least 1 minute until completely smooth and velvety.
Pour the blended soup into an airtight storage container. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours, aiming for a serving temperature of 4 Celsius or 39 Fahrenheit.
Ladle the deeply chilled soup into cold bowls. Serve immediately as a refreshing appetizer or light dessert.
Chef's Notes
- While simmering reduces the alcohol content, a small percentage remains. Substitute the wine with cherry juice or pomegranate juice for a completely alcohol-free version.
- Always chill the soup fully before adjusting the final seasoning. Cold temperatures naturally dull the human perception of sweetness, so it may need a touch more sugar once chilled.
- For an elegant presentation, chill your serving bowls in the freezer for 15 minutes before ladling the soup. This prevents the soup from warming up too quickly at the table.
- Using frozen cherries is perfectly acceptable and often preferable when fresh cherries are out of season, as they are picked and frozen at peak ripeness.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store in an airtight container to prevent absorbing other fridge odors.
Freezer: 3 months — Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving. Blending briefly after thawing restores the perfect texture.
Troubleshooting
Soup tastes too tart or astringent
Cause: The cherries or mango were under-ripe, or the chosen red wine was excessively dry and tannic
Fix: Stir in a tablespoon of simple syrup or agave nectar until the flavor profile is balanced
Prevention: Taste the fruit before cooking to gauge natural sweetness, and select fruit-forward, low-tannin wines
Texture is gritty or fibrous
Cause: The blender was not run long enough to process the cherry skins and mango fibers
Fix: Pass the soup through a fine-mesh sieve before chilling
Prevention: Always blend for at least a full minute on the highest speed setting
Cultural Context
Chilled fruit soups have a strong heritage in Eastern European cuisine, most notably the Hungarian Meggyleves made from sour cherries and sour cream. This modern interpretation strips away the dairy and introduces tropical mango to create a bright, contemporary fusion dish. The addition of red wine nods to classic poached fruit desserts, marrying European culinary traditions with global flavors.
