The old saying “Life is just a bowl of cherries” gains new poignance during the brief cherry season.
For one thing, you can buy a bowl of fresh cherries for only about six weeks a year. Then each luscious fruit contains a stone that requires a lot of patience, and sometimes mess, to extract. That’s a lot like life.
Starting in June, the California cherries come in first, then in a few weeks comes the fruit from Washington and Michigan.
Sweet or sour, the primary obstacle to cooking with fresh cherries is, literally, the pits. One type of cherry pitter on the market looks like a meat grinder and allows one person to handle more volume. The venerable “Joy of Cooking” advises using a hairpin or clean pen nib.
However tedious stoning cherries may be, it’s worth it because the growing season is so short and fresh cherries are so wonderful.
ALL-AMERICAN CHERRY PIE
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Yield: One 9-inch pie
4 cups fresh tart cherries
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons kirsch, optional
Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie shell, unbaked
2 tablespoons butter
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Sort, rinse, stem and pit cherries. Mix cherries, sugar, tapioca and kirsch in large bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Pour fruit into unbaked pie shell and dot with butter. Cover with top crust (slashed to allow steam to escape) or lattice pastry. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 40 more minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Nutrition information per serving: 501 calories; 22 g fat; 8 mg cholesterol; 496 mg sodium; 38 percent calories from fat.
CHERRY COMPOTE
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
2 pounds fresh tart or sweet cherries
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kirsch
2-3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1. Sort, rinse, stem and pit cherries. Put them in a skillet large enough to hold cherries in a shallow layer. Sprinkle the fruit with the sugar and cook over high heat, shaking the pan until the sugar melts and the cherries start to feel soft. Sprinkle the cherries with the kirsch and the vinegar and shake the pan about 30 seconds longer.
2. Transfer cherries into a container and refrigerate. Let stand an hour or so before serving over vanilla ice cream or with macaroons.
Nutrition information per serving: 106 calories; negligible fat; 5 mg sodium; 3 percent calories from fat.
CHERRY CLAFOUTI
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
3 cups pitted sweet or tart cherries
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put milk, 1/3 cup of the sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender and blend at top speed for 1 minute. Pour a 1/4-inch layer of batter into a 7- to 8-cup capacity lightly buttered baking dish or flameproof pie plate. Cook over medium heat until the batter has set slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Spread the cherries over the batter and sprinkle on the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth the surface. Bake until puffed and browned and a toothpick or knife comes out clean, about 1 hour. Sprinkle the top with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm.
Nutrition information per serving: 208 calories; 4 g fat; 97 mg cholesterol; 91 mg sodium; 18 percent calories from fat.
