Although the season is winding down, you can still find cherries here and there at some farmers markets and certainly in your supermarket. Suzen is always picking up a bag and sampling on the drive home. Last week, I was in Yellowstone National Park and my daughter gave me one she had brought from Washington State.
I ate it, enjoyed it, and spit the seed out. My daughter, her boyfriend, and my wife surrounded me. How dare I contaminate a national park? I do feel ashamed. I do. I’m sorry. I was just thinking of the poor chipmunks and the snow that was coming. In September.
But if thirty years from now, you are in Yellowstone and find a cherry tree in the wild, please enjoy the fruit and remember me fondly. Somebody has to.
In the meantime, if you should buy some cherries, here’s something to do besides eat them raw or make cherry pie. You can poach the cherries and then use them at will: over ice cream, with pound cake, or even atop brownies. Poached in wine with sugar and spices, these cherries are deep red treat.
Poached Cherries
Yield: 6+ cups
Ingredients:
- 4 cups red wine [any kind]
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Peel of 2 oranges, white pith removed
- 1 whole clove
- ½ stick cinnamon
- 4 cups cherries, pitted, but kept whole
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, bring the red wine to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and continue to boil until the liquid has reduced to about one-third of its original volume. Add the orange and lemon peels, clove and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
Please the cherries in a large sauce pan and strain the red wine mixture over them. Bring to a boil over high heat, then removed from the heat and set aside to cool.
Refrigerate and use in 2-3 days.
Source: Payard Desserts by Francois Payard
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60 mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for 1/40th second at ISO‑250