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5.0 from 27 votes

Cherry Summer Soup (Kissel) Recipe

Kissel was one of our favorite childhood treats; a very popular dish among Slavic families. It's really easy to make and has just 4 ingredients (if you don't count water). There are different varieties of kissel in the world, but this is how we enjoyed it growing up. If you don't have fresh cherries; great news! You can also use frozen cherries and enjoy this treat all year long.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
23 mins
Servings: 6
Course: Dessert , Soup
Cuisine: Russian , Ukrainian

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Sweet Red Cherries fresh or frozen, pitted
  • 8 cups filtered water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 4 Tbsp Potato Starch in 1/4 cup cold water

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Fill a medium pot with 8 cups of water. Add 1 pound of pitted cherries and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes, partially covered (don't cover it completely or the contents may spill over. Stir in 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice and continue simmering another 3 minutes.
  3. Finally dissolve 4 Tbsp of potato starch in 1/4 cup of water and slowly add it to the pot while stirring the soup. Remove from heat and let kissel cool slightly. You can strain out the cherries if you prefer, but I love the texture and flavor they add to the soup. To serve, ladle the very warm soup into bowls or mugs. P.S. It reheats really well. My husband likes his kissel cold. Either way, it's such a treat!

Notes

  • Potato starch works really well in this soup. We've tried substituting with corn starch with disappointing results. We found that you need more corn starch to do the same job and you can taste the corn starch. Look for potato starch in the bins of your grocery stores. We've found it at Rosauers, and most European stores. Try whole foods as well.