Recipes

Cherry Sauce

Recipe No. 486 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Sauces. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Sauces

Serves 1 gallon 100 servings, 2½ mess kit spoons each.

Recipe No. 486 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Sauces. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Cherries, sour — 3 No. 10 cans
  • Water — as needed
  • Cornstarch — 6 ounces (⅓ mess kit cup)
  • Sugar, granulated — 1½ pounds (1 mess kit cup)
  • Salt — ⅛ ounce (¼ mess kit spoon)
  • Water — ½ pint (⅓ mess kit cup)
  • Butter — ¼ pound (8 mess kit spoons)
  • Lemon juice — ½ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)

Directions

Key ingredients

Cornstarch

  1. Drain cherries. Add water to juice, if necessary, to make 3¾ quarts (3¾ No. 56 dippers) liquid.
  2. Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt together; add water and stir until smooth.
  3. Heat cherry juice to boiling point; add cornstarch mixture slowly, stirring constantly.
  4. Heat to boiling point; boil 5 minutes or until clear and thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
  5. Add butter and lemon juice; mix well.
  6. Serve hot or cold.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Cherries, sour — 3 cups Water — to taste Cornstarch — ½ oz Sugar, granulated — 2 oz Salt — a pinch Water — 1¼ tbsp Butter — about 2 tsp Lemon juice — a pinch

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 486, Sauces. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.