One of my favorite times of year, sour cherries are here! Thanks for gorgeous shots Donna. Time to make pie!
Or a cocktail:
Sour Cherry with Rum and Mint
Not quite a sour cherry mojito (though that would work). Keep it pure with two ounces muddled sour cherries, 2 ounces rum, 1 ounce of simple syrup. Garnish with mint.
Really refreshing. This will work with gin or vodka — I think gin best though.
This, I think, is better: make the recipe for Jeni’s Sour Cherry Lambic Sorbet at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sour-cherry-lambic-sorbet and shake together 3 oz. of sorbet plus 2 oz. of your chosen spirit (gin does indeed work well). If you don’t have an ice cream maker, make granita. I tried the cocktail recipe above and was disappointed in both how minimal the cherry flavor was (even with vigorous muddling) and the high level of sweetness. And with the sorbet drink, you’re having the whole fruit.
Please let Donna know that the cherry picture is absolutely gorgeous. She is a real talent.
I tried the muddled cherry-rum combo, but perhaps I did not get it right. However I was more successful with a “peachito”, inspired by your recipe. Blended lime and peach flesh and mint, then proceeded with simple syrup and rum – yum. Thanks!
Those both sound great. But how ’bout a kriek!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriek
Aaron
craftaustin.com
Wow! The gin version topped with sparking water is quite refreshing in this unusually warm and humid weather that Denver is experiencing. Has anyone else noticed how heat and humidity really enhance cocktails like this and the mint julip?
Gorgeous pictures. What a refreshing drink that is. Just right for our Indian summer!
Beautiful cherries here. I get to pick them for free at one of the local historical properities here. Made the best sour cherry jam ever.
Along with the pie for dessert, yes that’s the best as well, I’ll have to try the drink. What a night!
Michael: Do you know where to get sour cherries in Cleveland? I drove over to the North Union Market at 11am after reading your post, and they couldn’t tell me definitively if they had them or not. They just said that if they did have any berries, I was too late.
PS–here’s the holy bread recipe if anyone is curious:http://read-n-eat.com/?p=1034
Beautiful pics! Can’t wait to try that suggestion for smooshed cherries and lemon with amaretto on the rocks. Sounds like liquid heaven. I just made a batch of urban, the arab holy bread, that calls for mahlab, the ground pits of black cherries. With the rosewater undertones, I am experiencing of flavor and essence of cherry that I never knew existed.
Hello!…out there…cherrie pie recipe please..
i haven’t tried but i hear they freeze really well.
Answer up, Michael! Can we use frozen sour cherries? We just bought some from the local Russian market so our houseguest from Kiev can make cherry vareniki. Can’t get ‘em fresh here.
So if we do not have access to fresh sour cherries, you recommend what exactly? (frozen, dried, or water-packed)
Eastern European cuisine … cherry jam on a hearty bread with lots of butter. A real winner.
Mmm, sounds like a winner. You don’t see a lot of stonefruit in cocktails — I believe there was just a piece in Imbibe on that fact.
I’m thinking cherries, either a barrel-aged rum like Ron Zacapa or a rye-heavy bourbon, and simple syrup that’s spent just a little while in the smoker, could work out very nicely. Maybe some lemon sage for a garnish… yum.
Being productive is grossly over-rated! Lurve the cherries. The block will pass.
I’ve always liked smooshed cherries & lemon wedges, with amaretto on the rocks. Cherries can take the form of black cherries or even Peter Heering or Luxardo maraschino.
Ok, Michael, now you got me – pie and a cocktail!
Um, Donna, you’re killing me with this beautiful, intoxicating photography.
@Roger, Indeed!
However, BC has some of the best sweet cherries on the Continent!
In BC, we have so much fresh produce, fish and meat available, when you think about it, it is quite astounding.
Creston, BC is particularly known for cherries and export them.
Not sour mind you but I think you and I will survive.
And then… there are the fresh nectarine, peaches, etc.
Somehow, you and I will make it through the summer with local made wine, fresh fruit, produce, and meat.
I know it will be tough but together we will strike through.
Come visit us in Seattle, you silly man. The cherries will be ripe and flooding the farmers’ markets right around the time the CA ones (i.e., the “fake cherries”) fade. Bings, Rainiers, and an exquisite variety (that doesn’t ship well, so don’t even look) called “Vans”. So dark they’re almost black. So soft and sweet, they’re almost jam, right off the stone. They make a fabulous shortcake fruit, or clafouti, or topping for ice cream, pancakes, you name it. Just pit ‘em and mash ‘em a little with a fork. Mix ‘em with cottage cheese. Roll in ‘em. Whatever.
Our neighbor grows pie cherries on the parking strip (urban Seattle is very agricultural) and they used to use their old VW bus as a platform to pick them from. Now their kids are grown, my daughter does the honors, in tie-dye of course.
Cherries are magical.
Summer is here!!!!!
Cherry and bourbon flavors are complimentary. I bet that bourbon would make a great sub for clear spirits in the cocktail.
Drank one like this recently at Adhoc for brunch. They added lime juice.
ok just read twitter…did i miss the cocktail on first read? sorry…I am going to make this with muddled strawberries and add some fresh lemon juice for the tang…hmmm maybe a pitcher full
Just saw the first sour cherries at the Union Sq market in NY…this is getting made straightaway.
Ruhlman, you just gave me a nasty case of writer’s block. Time to call it a day.
Absolutely beautiful.
I’m totally jealous. The sour cherries around here cost a bundle, but make the best jam… I think my 1/2 pints came out to cost nearly $9 apiece last year!
I have a sour cherry tree in my backyard so I didn’t even realize how rare they were until last year. (God bless the people who lived here before and planted a tree) We didn’t get many cherries this year so only had enough for one, single, amazing pie. mmmm
Donna takes the most amazing photos.
Now that’s as beautiful a photo of cherries as I’ve ever seen. So wish I had a source of sour cherries here. I love cherry pie.
And strawberries are here!
hey where’s the recipe?
Time for clafouti! And peaches are rioting right now.
I’m envious – sour cherries generally aren’t grown here in BC (there are some, but they’re hard to come by).
But I love fresh cherry pie. Mmm…
While the birds fussed at us for getting their loot, we picked about 6.5#. We’ve come close to the perfect cherry pie but not quite. Care to share your filling recipe Michael?
…or water-packed? (sorry)
Beautiful!
Beautiful shot. First time I’ve ever seen fresh sour cherries on a tree.
Fresh sour cherries? I am sooo jealous right now. Since they’re not available in my area, would you recommend using frozen or dried sour cherries to make compote?