Tart cherries!

[2naSalit]

I picked and cleaned about two quarts of them tonight. Ugh. Pitting them wasn't so hard just time consuming. Most are in the freezer so I can look for good recipes for small batch stuff like jams or fruit bars later.

My buddy has a tree, should have picked them earlier but it's been too hot to be in the sun and picking cherries. I did manage to get these today as it was cool this evening but that left me with a late start on processing. But I got it done.

I have never used them before so I have been looking at recipes online and haven't decided what to make yet.

Anybody got any good recipes?

[Mr.Bill]

1. My stepdaughter has a cherry tree like that.

I can't give you an exact recipe, but my wife makes great pies and these cherries made a great cherry pie. I know she did add some sugar to them.

[2naSalit]

3. I'm leaning in that direction.

I am not all that fond of cherry pie but the owner of the tree is addicted to pie and he doesn't look it, amazingly. So I kind of have to make something he likes, but he'd eat anything I make. I started out thinking I'd pick a couple cups and make some quick jam or something to see how that came out. But now that I have a lot, I should probably make a pie. I have a couple really good cookbooks for pie so I think I will go that route. I'll bake it in his kitchen, I'm sure I'll have a piece. I might have enough to try the jam too. There are raspberries too so I might add those to the jam to stay low on the sugar.

Thanks!

[applegrove]

2. I saw a recipe for cherry upside-down cake. I didn't keep it. It

sounded delicious. You could Google that.

[2naSalit]

4. Mmm...

Think I saw a recipe online yesterday but didn't look at it. Sounds good. I think I'm going to attempt cherry pie. Never made one before, if I make pie, it's usually either apple or pecan.

It was the last day to get good ones off that tree. They're near their end and it's been hot so some were already fermenting on the tree. The birds weren't thrilled about me picking what was left of the good ones. They certainly are pretty.

I'm too burned out to do it now but I have a couple old cookbooks, was posting about them earlier, I will consult those for the best way to prepare the cherries, I already have the crust down.

Catching the rerun of Lawrence and then I'm going horizontal. Thanks for the idea! I'll make plans to harvest a bunch next year. I should have started last week, probably have a couple gallons of them.

[applegrove]

5. Sounds delicious. Good night.

[2naSalit]

18. I did look at that again today...

Might give it a try as I have a healthy stash and could probably have enough for that too. I have the pie cherries in the freezer, I froze them individually on a cookie sheet so they will be whole and pretty when they go into the pie. I really did read a lot on a few web sites to see what others had to say about cooking them and what to expect.

The cake has my interest because, though I like good pie, if there's cake I'll have that instead.

[applegrove]

20. Pineapple upside-down cake was my dad's favourite dessert and that

is what got me to like the idea of cherry upside-down cake. I did have an amarena cherry topping on a cheesecake a month ago. It was amazin, indeed out of this world (Italian black cherries in syrup). I ordered some online, they were expensive, and put them on a cheesecake. Had them on ice cream. Only a bit at a time. I gave some to my aunt. I have some left but am all cherried out. The amarena ones I can get at the local grocery store but prefer the real ones at this point. Plus they are in season. I could not eat a full cake so I'll have to live vicariously through you. Let me know how it turns out.

[2naSalit]

21. I'll do that.

Won't be right away but I'll certainly let you know how turns out. Pineapple upsidedown cake is one I really like.

[applegrove]

22. Let me know how it turns out and maybe I will make it.

I was going to make a pineapple one for my dad and then covid came along. He lived in a nursing home and we used to bring dinner to him and set up a table in his room. Then covid hit and they were all in lockkdown. When we got back in, my dad's choking was such that they did not want us feeding him food from outside, I think. I spent lots of time with dad because every time someone tested positive on his floor, staff included, residents would have to eat in their rooms for 10 days or so. I would gear up and feed him as I was afraid of him eating alone and he was less and less capable off feeding himself. Harrowing. Dad passed away this past October just when he stopped being able to enjoy his friend and caregiver who was hilarious. Just when they put him on mush to eat. Just as all his friends were passing away. He had pneumonia and did not suffer. I am left with awe at the staff who donned full covid gear and wore it all day (i only had to wear it for a few hours). We were very lucky. Very lucky to have had the family I did have. Dad was lovely and kind. Miss him.

[2naSalit]

23. ...

My condolences.

My mom used to make the pineapple kind but only on special occasions so it was a special thing when I was really young, it was my brother's favorite, I liked frosting too much then.

But I barely had a chance to say goodbye to my mom when she was passing, she probably wouldn't have acknowledged if I did. She was well on her way into the kind of isolation that Parkinson's dementia brings. She didn't understand why she had to stay in her room. She had a rough last year as we were having problems keeping her in any one facility as she declined and the pandemic raged on with no vaccine yet. She passed alone in a facility, she was not really awake for the last day, she died from covid a few days after being diagnosed. She was in her early 90s and had a reasonably good last quarter century until the disease took over.


Some had families where being together at that time had value who got the chance during the pandemic and many who didn't have that chance regardless of their relationships. It's good that you had the time you needed and that he was able to know that you were there.

The sad part about you and your dad is that you miss him, the good part is that the memories are loving.

[applegrove]

26. So sorry you were not there when your mom passed. My mom had

a type of Parkinsons'. She was lucid almost to the end. She stopped eating and drinking. Was on morphine her last days. She was wanting to pass a month before she did. I'd much rather die of pneumonia. But I'm glad I was there to tell her "we love you so much" when she died. And I'm glad my mom died well before Covid because it was really hard on people who were in lockdown. My parents should have been in a nursing home before but we wanted to keep them together in their assisted living apartment. I cooked for them. They had lots of visits with friends and family.

We, before vaccines but during covid, would visit dad through a window to the nursing home. We'd talk to him there using phones. He so went downhill. He looked distressed. They were shut into their rooms alone 24/7 as you would know. But he revived after we got to visit again. And then he just started shutting down. It was his time.

For both of them I go back to the good times when I remember. They were so devoted.... the type of parents who lent the cottage to us kids in our twenties because they wanted us to have fun with our friends. We were lucky. They were good to us. We tried to be good to them.

[BigmanPigman]

6. My sister misses our tart cherries from PA and can't find them in CA.

We had a tart cherry tree in our yard in PA and I made pies, tons of pies and even remember the page (page 324...Betty Crocker's Cookbook) in my cookbook. I still have the book (50 years later and it is held together with rubber bands). I started baking when I was 10 and only used fresh tart cherries, blueberries and peaches that we hand picked each year for 15 years. Yum!!!

The tart cherries are a pain in the ass. It is very time consuming and the juice runs down your arm like blood. We froze them and used them year round. I only use butter in my pie crusts and it makes the pies so tasty.

My sister and I are still pissed off over 40 years later since we spent tons of time picking and pitting the cherries (literally days) but since we knew the pies would be the result it was worth it, until the year my dad decided to usurp the cherries and make wine out of them. It was his new fad. The problem was that while we were not at home the big, plastic bag that was fermenting fell over and ALL THE CHERRY JUICE WAS GONE!!! No cherries for pies for that whole year and we were/are mad. She has looked for the similar cherries her whole life (a fanatic) but can't repeat the flavor.

So, my advice is DO NOT MAKE WINE with them.

8 inch pie
Pastry for 2 crust 8 inch pie
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 cups fresh, pitted tart cherries
2 tablespoons butter

If you use frozen cherries decrease sugar to 1/2 cup

Heat oven to 425
Prepare pastry
Stir the sugar and cherries and pour into the crust.

Cover with the top crust, make slits, seal and flute
Bake 35 to 45 minutes until brown and juice bubbles through the slits.

Enjoy.
This is the original cookbook....

https://vintagecookbook.com/product/betty-crockers-cookbook-1969-2/

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cherry-pie/f2889e73-caac-40ef-8b5e-f35f04496fc6

[2naSalit]

7. Ohh nice!

Thank you!

I don't recall seeing these kind of cherries in that area but I can imagine someone has tried to grow them there.

[mitch96]

8. Ok it's not food but a cocktail. 2 fingers of bourbon, 1 finger of tart cherry juice with pulp

and two fingers of good quality water...Ice to your liking..
Delish. I used Jack Daniels bottled in bond 100 proof bourbon and it came out well..YMMV
m

[2naSalit]

19. So aren't these the same cherries...

That are turned into those maraschino cherries used in cocktails? They really are that color! well not the plastic appearance part but that unreal red.

The beverage sounds good but it seems that my days of alcohol consumption are over, it just makes me ill anymore, even just a few sips of good wine.

But the tree owner might be interested in your suggestion, I will share that with him.

[mitch96]

24. "even just a few sips of good wine." I have been turned off with wine lately. Just taste like

bad grape juice. I don't drink much hard stuff anymore. I'm kinda sorta a Guinness guy as of late..
m

[2naSalit]

25. I've always been...

Limited in what I can drink, I am allergic to hops so that rules out a whole beverage class there.

Never did drink much anyway as many of my jobs could not have been done if I was into drinking, I'm a serious lightweight. I don't see it as a detriment except when there's a big celebration and I can't have anything to toast with that goes with the drapes. Nothing major, though.

There are other forms of entertainment.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. My favorite is cherry pie served with vanilla ice cream.

[Retrograde]

10. Sour cherries?

They're used a lot in eastern European and Middle Eastern cooking. I have a tree: I make clafoutis, which is a pancake-like thing with fruit. I've also cooked them with rice and chicken. Claudia Rosen's Jewish cook book has a nice recipe for lamb meatballs with a sour cherry sauce.

Less time consuming: get some frozen puff pastry, thaw it, add some sour cherries and bake. You can make a big batch and freeze some of it for later use

[2naSalit]

11. That sounds interesting!

I checked my stash and I have enough for a 9" pie and a couple other smaller items. I might give that try. I love good pastry.

Thank you!

[Emile]

12. Tart Cherry Jam recipe.

https://cookinglsl.com/tart-cherry-jam-recipe/

[2naSalit]

13. What timing!

I was just taking a break before putting things together in a pot for jam. I have reviewed several recipes already to get an idea of what I need to do.

Thank you!

[Emile]

14. I have a tart crab apple tree and my niece makes jam

with them every year. Some of the best jam I ever had. Tart Cherry Jam sounds delicious.

[2naSalit]

15. I saw...

A recipe for cherry/raspberry jam and I'm using that, only difference in that some of the fruit is not cherry but sounded great. There are raspberries in my friend's yard too so I decided to try it with both. I also have enough cherries for at least one pie so that's coming this week since it is supposed to be cool and rainy for a few days.

I have to go get some pectin, I see. Not sure I trust not having any before I start.

[spinbaby]

16. You are so lucky!

It’s hard to find sour cherries. They’re perfect for pie and cherry preserves.

[2naSalit]

17. So I've been finding out.

I tried some jam but I think I under estimated the pectin amount and it might turn out to be cherry/raspberry syrup instead! Tastes good anyway. Glad I made a really small batch. I did puree the whole lot before cooking but having not tried jam/jelly in probably 50 years, if it tastes good I'm happy whether it's jam or syrup.


The pie has more promise, I have a reputation for pies around here, all I need is to prep the cherries the right way, I'm even going to attempt a lattice top! Something I think I tried back when I was in my teens and did not have the rad crust that I make now. I don't ever recall trying to make a cherry pie and certainly not with fresh picked ones.

Next year I'll be on top of it and try to pick a few gallons so we can freeze them for use in winter, like for pie.