David, I recently returned from a wonderful trip on the Rhone River. One day we went to the Ardeche and had a fabulous lunch at Auberge do Pont d'Arc. The dessert was a Chestnut spread tarte which was out of this world. I bought the Creme de Marrons de l'Ardeche (chestnut spread) used to make the tart but can't find a recipe. Do you have such a recipe that you can share? Also do you have suggestions for other uses of the Chestnut spread? Thank you for your help.
My grandad had raspberry canes and I loved helping him harvest them. They fitted on the end of my fingers like furry busbys. The cherries we hooked over our ears like earrings!!
David, One of the farmers at my local Farmers Market grows Michigan Sour Cherries. Michigan is famous for these cherries. I use your recipe to make jam. I didn't know your could freeze cherries. Do I need to pit them? Should I rinse them first? before I put them in the freezer? They haven't reached the market yet, however, I want to be prepared. Thanks for your help, Gail
The best way to freeze cherries it to pit them and put them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen (individually) you can put them in a freezer-safe bag and use them later. I would rinse them first and let them dry thoroughly before pitting them. Sour cherries are very fragile and brown easily so once pitted, get them in the freezer. You might want to ask the people at the market selling them if they have any tips too!
I do this with raspberries but I don't really cook them. Just dump them in a jar with some sugar and raspberry brandy. Then you can get pretty smashed after a month or so :). Will try this when the domestic cherries grow in.
I just made your Strawberry Spritz over the weekend with all the wonderful strawberries that have been popping up in the SF farmers' markets! It was delightful now I can buy even MORE strawberries!
This recipe is a delicious reason to buy some high quality vanilla ice cream! I clicked on your link for Fig-Pineapple Jam as I, too, am an avid jam maker but no recipe. I guess I need to buy your dessert book?!
I have made every cherry recipe of yours to which I have access. We have seven cherry trees, three producing sweet cherries and four producing what used to be called “pie cherries.” I so much prefer the pie cherries to the sweet varieties, which are too sweet and to me lacking the essential fresh fruit element of “brightness.” I sometimes modify your recipes slightly to accommodate pie cherries rather than sweet. But, oh my, each and every cherry recipe of yours elicits rave reviews from absolutely everybody. Best thing: I have jars and jars of compote, sauce, etc., in the freezer for the winter, bringing joyous memories of summer with each bite. Thank you for the recipes!
I love sour cherries but they're very hard to find fresh in Paris (Picard, the frozen food store, sells frozen, pitted ones that are good in a pinch.) But I know most people don't have access to them, so it's hard to share recipes that exclusively use them, however I really like sweet cherries too : )
The last time I was in Paris I stayed in Vincennes, and my last morning I walked into town to get some snacks for my afternoon flight back to New York. As luck would have it, it was farmers market day! I bought a little basket of perfect raspberries, and the woman who sold them to me kept urging me to buy a flat so I could make confiture. I was so tickled to be mistaken for a local (normally my French accent fools no one) that I bought another basket to give to my Airbnb hosts. Thank you for reminding me of this sweet memory! Would that recipe work with sour cherries, do you think? I have a big bag of them in my refrigerator, I couldn’t resist them as I was food shopping in Brighton Beach yesterday.
I mentioned in the headnote to the recipe that sour cherries (which I love) are very soft so would likely not hold up and keep their shape for a compote like this - but I haven't tried them, so if you do, let us know how they turn out!
So glad we are going cherry picking on Sunday. I’ll make this recipe and serve over homemade vanilla ice cream, and my husband will also make his burgundy cherry ice cream to literally further enjoy the fruits of our labor! Let summer begin!
Love all summer stone fruit, including cherries. Interesting information in this post about the liquors, but since I am not a fan of pastis I will eat my cherries "as is!" ENJOY!
Despite my dislike of licorice flavors, I’m intrigued by both the cherry recipe and trying pastis with sparkling water, which is how I drink other herbaceous liquors. Thank you for the impetus to try something new!
Every year I find myself longing for the sour cherries of my youth. There were two trees in the yard of my best friend’s house next door, more in the farm house yard down the road. Sigh. We all gorged -especially the robins but there were plenty for all. That was near London Ontario, (Cda) Up north of the nation’s capital where I now live I have tried the cultivars for the new northern bred cherries. I too have seen the promise of a cherry or two but each year the chipmunks sample these little treasures early in the growing season and discard the tiny globes as unsuitable, returning again, and again ... until the last one with perhaps a hint of the orangy pink promise of ripening fruit disappears. I can however buy pails of tart cherries in our grocery store in mid summer and freeze the lot. I am one of those fortunates with ahem, two freezers...
Keep the cherry recipes coming David! We ❤️ all kinds.
David, You’re probably going to boot me out for this but, the NYT cooking recently shared a recipe for homemade Maraschino Cherries, which I’m tempted to try. Wondering if you saw that and if you had thoughts about that? Also, these are tart cherries as opposed to Bing, right? I love your emails and your journey!
I used sweet cherries here, as shown in the photo and I don't think sour cherries would work. I know Melissa's "Maraschino" cherries recipe but those are made with sour cherries. We don't get those easily in Paris - have you tried them?
David, I recently returned from a wonderful trip on the Rhone River. One day we went to the Ardeche and had a fabulous lunch at Auberge do Pont d'Arc. The dessert was a Chestnut spread tarte which was out of this world. I bought the Creme de Marrons de l'Ardeche (chestnut spread) used to make the tart but can't find a recipe. Do you have such a recipe that you can share? Also do you have suggestions for other uses of the Chestnut spread? Thank you for your help.
My grandad had raspberry canes and I loved helping him harvest them. They fitted on the end of my fingers like furry busbys. The cherries we hooked over our ears like earrings!!
David, One of the farmers at my local Farmers Market grows Michigan Sour Cherries. Michigan is famous for these cherries. I use your recipe to make jam. I didn't know your could freeze cherries. Do I need to pit them? Should I rinse them first? before I put them in the freezer? They haven't reached the market yet, however, I want to be prepared. Thanks for your help, Gail
The best way to freeze cherries it to pit them and put them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen (individually) you can put them in a freezer-safe bag and use them later. I would rinse them first and let them dry thoroughly before pitting them. Sour cherries are very fragile and brown easily so once pitted, get them in the freezer. You might want to ask the people at the market selling them if they have any tips too!
I do this with raspberries but I don't really cook them. Just dump them in a jar with some sugar and raspberry brandy. Then you can get pretty smashed after a month or so :). Will try this when the domestic cherries grow in.
I just made your Strawberry Spritz over the weekend with all the wonderful strawberries that have been popping up in the SF farmers' markets! It was delightful now I can buy even MORE strawberries!
This recipe is a delicious reason to buy some high quality vanilla ice cream! I clicked on your link for Fig-Pineapple Jam as I, too, am an avid jam maker but no recipe. I guess I need to buy your dessert book?!
I have made every cherry recipe of yours to which I have access. We have seven cherry trees, three producing sweet cherries and four producing what used to be called “pie cherries.” I so much prefer the pie cherries to the sweet varieties, which are too sweet and to me lacking the essential fresh fruit element of “brightness.” I sometimes modify your recipes slightly to accommodate pie cherries rather than sweet. But, oh my, each and every cherry recipe of yours elicits rave reviews from absolutely everybody. Best thing: I have jars and jars of compote, sauce, etc., in the freezer for the winter, bringing joyous memories of summer with each bite. Thank you for the recipes!
I love sour cherries but they're very hard to find fresh in Paris (Picard, the frozen food store, sells frozen, pitted ones that are good in a pinch.) But I know most people don't have access to them, so it's hard to share recipes that exclusively use them, however I really like sweet cherries too : )
Sounds awesome, will definitely try.
Speaking of fruit recipes, I made your ginger lemonade yesterday and it’s fabulous!
glad you liked it!
The last time I was in Paris I stayed in Vincennes, and my last morning I walked into town to get some snacks for my afternoon flight back to New York. As luck would have it, it was farmers market day! I bought a little basket of perfect raspberries, and the woman who sold them to me kept urging me to buy a flat so I could make confiture. I was so tickled to be mistaken for a local (normally my French accent fools no one) that I bought another basket to give to my Airbnb hosts. Thank you for reminding me of this sweet memory! Would that recipe work with sour cherries, do you think? I have a big bag of them in my refrigerator, I couldn’t resist them as I was food shopping in Brighton Beach yesterday.
I mentioned in the headnote to the recipe that sour cherries (which I love) are very soft so would likely not hold up and keep their shape for a compote like this - but I haven't tried them, so if you do, let us know how they turn out!
So glad we are going cherry picking on Sunday. I’ll make this recipe and serve over homemade vanilla ice cream, and my husband will also make his burgundy cherry ice cream to literally further enjoy the fruits of our labor! Let summer begin!
Love your posting again so much information I am site tracking making your yummy granola first
Love all summer stone fruit, including cherries. Interesting information in this post about the liquors, but since I am not a fan of pastis I will eat my cherries "as is!" ENJOY!
Despite my dislike of licorice flavors, I’m intrigued by both the cherry recipe and trying pastis with sparkling water, which is how I drink other herbaceous liquors. Thank you for the impetus to try something new!
Every year I find myself longing for the sour cherries of my youth. There were two trees in the yard of my best friend’s house next door, more in the farm house yard down the road. Sigh. We all gorged -especially the robins but there were plenty for all. That was near London Ontario, (Cda) Up north of the nation’s capital where I now live I have tried the cultivars for the new northern bred cherries. I too have seen the promise of a cherry or two but each year the chipmunks sample these little treasures early in the growing season and discard the tiny globes as unsuitable, returning again, and again ... until the last one with perhaps a hint of the orangy pink promise of ripening fruit disappears. I can however buy pails of tart cherries in our grocery store in mid summer and freeze the lot. I am one of those fortunates with ahem, two freezers...
Keep the cherry recipes coming David! We ❤️ all kinds.
David, You’re probably going to boot me out for this but, the NYT cooking recently shared a recipe for homemade Maraschino Cherries, which I’m tempted to try. Wondering if you saw that and if you had thoughts about that? Also, these are tart cherries as opposed to Bing, right? I love your emails and your journey!
I used sweet cherries here, as shown in the photo and I don't think sour cherries would work. I know Melissa's "Maraschino" cherries recipe but those are made with sour cherries. We don't get those easily in Paris - have you tried them?
Not yet, perhaps this weekend! Will let you know how they are. Thanks David!