Greek cherry spoon sweet (kerasaki glyko koutaliou)

Rinse the cherries several times. Wearing gloves, remove the stems and pit the cherries with a cherry pitter over a large bowl, keeping the cherries intact and the pits; put the pitted cherries in the saucepan.

Add a cup of water to the pits, swish and let sit.

Add the sugar and the juice of a lemon to the cherries; strain in the water from the pits. Toss so everything is coated.

Leave in the refrigerator overnight or about 12 hours so the cherries release their juices; 3 to 4 hours on the counter also works.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium for a constant boil without overflowing.

Skim off the light froth now and then; boil 25 minutes.

variation: for a thicker syrup, strain out the cherries and boil the syrup another five or ten minutes, then return the cherries.

Stir in the vanilla extract, take off the heat and cool completely at room temperature.

Transfer to jars or a storage container and refrigerate; keep any extra syrup in a separate jar.