The summer is upon us and that means it is time for deliciously fresh produce straight from the local farm. My family loves to go fruit and vegetable picking, and we always bring back way more than we need. Today we went sour cherry picking. Sour cherries are also known as tart cherries, and they are as the name suggests: sour. You don’t want to just pop them in your mouth, straight from the bowl. Sour cherries need to baked or cooked. But they are so good! Fresh sour cherries are one of those tasty treats we aren’t able to buy in our local stores, so even though they are not so pleasant to eat raw, it is still exciting when sour cherry season rolls around. So now that we have about a gazillion sour cherries that we have picked, what will we do with them?
First, we have to prep our cherries now that we brought them home. Sour cherries are very tender when ripe, so we gently wash all of our cherries to remove any pesticides and dirt. Next, it is time to get out the cherry pitter, a neat little tool that pops the pit out of the cherry without destroying the shape of the fruit. (You can do this with a serrated edge knife as well, just be careful around your fingers.) Now the cherries are ready to be used. What do I do with them? These are some of my favorite uses for sour cherries:
Freeze them: Lay a bunch of pitted cherries on a sheet pan and place in the freezer until the cherries are completely frozen. Freezing the cherries separately keeps the cherries from forming a solid block in the freezer. Once frozen, you can scoop up the cherries and store them in a freezer bag. This allows you take out as many or a few as desired, and to save your cherries for later in the year (I have used my frozen cherries in the middle of the winter for a little taste of the summer when it is so cold outside).
Bake them: Cherry pie, cherry crisp (recipe below), cherry cobbler, cherry tarts, sour cherry coffee cake. Need I go on? Keep in mind that these cherries will need a little more sugar than your typical cherry, but they will taste so bright and delicious in all of your baked goods.
Preserve them: Either whole or as preserves, can these cherries for the winter.
Cook them: Make some cherry jam, cold sour cherry soup, compote, and more.
There are so many wonderful ways to use your sour cherries, so if you haven’t already, run out and pick some while they are in season!
Sour Cherry Crisp
Ingredients:
4 c sour cherries, pitted
1 ¼ c sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
Crisp Topping:
1 c quick cook oats
1 c flour
½ c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ c oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the cherries in an 8x8 inch or a 9-inch round baking dish. Add the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and toss to completely coat the cherries. In a bowl, combine the crisp topping ingredients and mix together well. Spread the crisp topping over the cherries. Spray the top lightly with cooking spray. Place uncovered in the oven and bake until the cherries are bubbling and the crisp turns golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
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