Cold Sour Cherry Soup
Also: Hideg meggyleves, Hungarian sour cherry soup, Meggyleves
A chilled Hungarian summer soup of sour cherries cooked with sugar and spices, enriched with cream and laced with red wine, served cold.
Identity criteria
- 1Made from sour (Morello) cherries, not sweet cherries
- 2Served chilled, a cold fruit soup
- 3Enriched with cream (often soured) for body
- 4Spiced, classically with cinnamon and clove
- 5Laced with red wine in the traditional version
- 6A savory-leaning sweet soup eaten as a starter, not a dessert
Components
Sour cherries (Morello)essential
Cream or sour creamessentialStirred in for richness
Lemonoptional
Water and red wineessentialRed wine is traditional; the cherry cooking liquid forms the broth
Flour or starch (thickener)optionalLightly thickens the soup
Sugaressential
Cinnamon and cloveessential
Technique
- Simmering cherries with spice and wine
- Draws cherry flavor into the liquid and infuses the warm spices that define the soup
- Chilling thoroughly
- The soup is defined by being served cold, a refreshing summer starter
- Tempering cream
- Stirring cream gently into the cooled soup keeps it smooth without curdling
Form & serving
- Served
- In a bowl, cold, with cherries and a swirl of cream
- Temperature
- Cold
- Portion
- Starter bowl
- Pairs with
- Crusty bread · A light white or rosé wine
Character
Flavour
Texture
Smooth chilled liquid with soft whole cherries
Eaten
A refreshing Hungarian summer starter, served cold at the beginning of a meal during sour-cherry season.
When
summer
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Classic wine version · Hungary
Made with red wine and a sour-cream finish
- Wine-free family version · Hungary
Omits wine for a milder, child-friendly soup
Related dishes
- sibling Cold fruit soup
Part of a Central European tradition of chilled fruit soups
- pairs-with Crusty bread
Common accompaniment
Substitutions
Fresh sour cherries → Frozen or jarred sour cherriesadmissible
Common off-season; keeps the tart character
Sour cherries → Sweet cherriesinadmissible
Loses the defining tartness and balance; it becomes a different, cloying soup
Common mistakes
- Using sweet cherries instead of sour, making it cloying
- Serving it warm rather than well chilled
- Curdling the cream by adding it to hot soup
- Over-sweetening and losing the defining tart balance
Provenance
A traditional Hungarian summer cold soup celebrating the country's prized sour cherries (meggy), served chilled in the warm months.
Claimed by: Hungary
References
- 1.Hungarian culinary tradition
Confidence: high