Here’s a classic Hungarian Chilled Cherry Soup (Meggyleves)—sweet-tart, creamy, and refreshing 🇭🇺🍒
It’s traditionally served cold as a summer first course or light dessert.
Hungarian Chilled Cherry Soup (Meggyleves)
Ingredients (Serves 4–6)
- 1½ lbs (700 g) sour cherries, pitted
(or frozen sour cherries, thawed) - 4 cups (1 L) water
- ½ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2–3 whole cloves
- Zest of ½ lemon (optional, traditional)
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour or cornstarch
- Optional garnish: fresh cherries, mint, or lemon zest
Instructions
1. Cook the Cherries
- Add cherries, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves, lemon zest, and salt to a pot.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer 10–15 minutes, until cherries are soft and fragrant.
2. Thicken the Soup
- In a bowl, whisk sour cream with flour (or cornstarch) until smooth.
- Temper the mixture with a ladle of hot soup, then slowly stir it back into the pot.
- Simmer gently 2–3 minutes (do not boil).
3. Cool & Chill
- Remove cinnamon and cloves.
- Let the soup cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate at least 2–3 hours until fully chilled.
Serve
- Serve cold, garnished with cherries or mint.
- Traditionally eaten before a main meal or as a light dessert.
🇭🇺 Traditional Tips
- Sour cherries (not sweet) are key to authentic flavor.
- The soup should be lightly sweet, slightly tangy, not heavy.
- Some Hungarian versions add a splash of red wine during cooking (optional).
✅ Result
A velvety, refreshing, sweet-tart soup with warm spice notes—iconic Hungarian summer comfort food.
If you’d like, I can also share:
• a no-cream dairy-free version
• a modern blender-smooth version
• a slow cooker Meggyleves
• or a traditional Hungarian holiday variation
Just tell me 😊
