I tackled the tart cherries today. Sometimes in the kitchen, I start in on something and halfway through think, “Maybe I should have figured out what I was doing first.”
That’s how it went with the cherries. There must be a more civilized way to pit cherries. I just sliced off a side and reached in Temple of Doom-style with my thumb and forefinger and ripped out the pit.
(Turns out there’s this tool called a cherry pitter….)
If you want some ideas for using tart cherries, try here and here. If you like to bake, cherry tarts and pies may be the way to go. Cherries can also be used in rich sauces for duck or filet mignon.
I took the first piece of advice and flash-froze the mangled remains. While they’re pretty good as frozen snacks, I suspect my cherries will end up in some form of alcohol, like champagne or fruity cocktails this summer or mulled brandy when it gets to be sweater weather.
I tried to rescue some of the tart cherry juice from the crime scene and managed to save a teaspoon or two. It’s supposed to be good for back and muscle pain and inflammation in general.
Just add warmed brandy. Tastes way better than Advil PM.
Pitting cherries, take two
Next time with the cherries I’m going to …
- see if I have a cherry pitter in a drawer somewhere,
- wear an apron or old shirt, and
- remember they’re tart cherries and any cuts on my hands will complain bitterly.
Peach muffins – now with honey
In other fruit news, I made more peach muffins – this time with local honey instead of white sugar. The texture was totally different: spongier, denser and softer at the same time, not so fluffy. I like them this way. Chris says he’ll be happy as long as the muffin experiments continue.
thoughtful consumption 
Yum! I needed tart cherries for my recipes, but settled for sweet. Come on over for cherry soup and cherry focaccia!
Thanks, Lucy. Your focaccia is beautiful!
Bahahaha! Temple of Doom style. And I’ll bet it tastes better than Advil PM.
I just decided to eat my sour cherries. I don’t have a cherry pitter either. (Would a food mill work?)
Thanks, kkf, for getting my silly references.
I think the food mill’s an interesting thought. I have not milled much food; my only experience is making apple butter. Cherry butter sounds pretty good, though.
The first picture, along with the headline, is inspired!
Great job on saving the cherry juice. I love drinking it. I add some fresh cherries, when they are in season or frozen ones and then add a dash of cherry juice to my white wine and it tastes great. But for the cherry juice, I don’t have enough patience I just get the Traverse Bay Farms cherry juice.