Monday, July 6, 2009

Cherries are Divine


Is there anything more perfect than a cherry?

Unfortunately for fruit nibblers, much of the local sweet cherry crop in New York was damaged by the cold, rainy spring and early summer. But for jammers and pie makers, the sour cherries have survived and are ready to pick! The local orchards are full of trees dripping with these ruby red jewels. My favorite variety are the black sour Morello Cherries, with delicious, tart, blood-red juice. They will be ready any day now, and I will be racing up to my favorite cherry orchard, the Fix Brothers Fruit Farm in Hudson, New York. Their orchard is the only one I know of in the region to pick Morello Cherries! Get ready for some tart morello preserves...

Jam on.

About the Gothic and elusive Morello Cherry:

Morello Cherry; Also known as English Morello Cherry or Black Sour Cherry:
Seldom found fresh. The blood-red juice is used in making liqueurs and brandies. The cherries can often be found canned, packed in syrup, dried and in preservatives. The sharp, sour taste makes the Morello unsuitable for eating raw, but perfect for cooking--just add sweetener! Morello cherries are great in pies, jams and liqueur! Try this wonderful recipe or my version above.


1 comment:

Angelina said...

Now I'm really sad that I didn't manage to get a morello planted in my new yard. I have planted them in two previous yards and keep moving away from them which is so sad because the Morello is the very best of the sour cherries (in my opinion). Next year I will not miss my chance to order at least one Morello during bare root season.