Amarene appassite dei Colli di S. Pietro are sour cherries from that hillside country, dried rather than eaten at once. They matter because a local glut on leftover ground becomes a pantry fruit: Campania’s regional notes describe them as grown in great plenty on marginal plots, with a drying method taken over from another kitchen practice.
The work is simple and patient. Stones come out first; then the fruit sits with plenty of sugar in vessels. Only after that packing do the cherries go into jars closed tight, ready to be opened when wanted rather than all at once.
That sealed sweetness is especially useful for mixing fresh drinks: a sharp-dark fruit held in sugar, waiting for water, ice or a glass when the season has already moved on.