Photography by Marie Viljoen, except where noted.
Stone fruit season is in full swing, and cherries—the smallest representative of these juicy summer treats—deserve special mention as we kick off a series devoted to fruit.
I wish more restaurants would be brave enough to serve exceptional and unadorned fruit for dessert, as is the custom in the Middle East (Turkey is the largest cherry producer in the world, by the way).
I like fresh cherries so much that for a long time I resisted cooking them.
I crave Caprese salads in summer but I am stubborn about tomatoes, holding out until local field-ripened fruit arrives at market. Recently, cherries came to the unlikely rescue: De-pit a handful, cutting them in half, twisting them open, and flicking the pit out with the tip of the knife.
Cherry Caprese Salad
Pickled Cherries
Take pickling even further: Gardenista contributor Laura Silverman blogs at Glutton for Life and writes, “Pickled cherries make a wonderful cocktail garnish and are the perfect condiment on a charcuterie plate.” Laura’s pickle recipe takes five days to accomplish and is worth it.
Photograph by Laura Silverman.
Clafoutis—an egg, flour, and cream batter poured over fresh cherries—is a cinch to prepare and delectable to eat, one of the most satisfying of summer desserts.
Cherry Clafoutis
Despite being aware that there is apparently nothing as American as cherry pie (and despite being enamored of the pie-loving Coop in Twin Peaks), I did not eat—or make—a cherry pie until a few years ago. You’ll find my recipe on my blog, 66 Square Feet (the Food).
Cherry Pie
My “surprise” muffins include a filling of cherry jam and are flavored with mahlab.
Cherry Muffins
Mahlab is made from the dried, crushed kernels of a Mediterranean cherry, and is used in very small quantities in baking, usually at Easter and Christmas; eating a lot might make you sick, as cherry kernels contain cyanide (that’s where the nice almond flavor comes from).
Mahlab
I make mahlab with wild black cherries (Prunus serotina).
Wild Cherry Pop
In late summer wild black cherries drip from trees like black rain. Their flavor varies from tree to tree, so taste before you start picking.
Long after summer is past brandied cherries are a cold evening comfort. The cherries become powerful (but be warned, they lose their color), and the liquor is flavored with cherry and delicate almond.
Cherry Brandy
Mix wild cherry soda with rum and lime and you have what my Rum Pop.
Rum Pop
At Gabriella Hamilton’s Lower East Side restaurant Prune, I once ate brandied cherries dipped into a batter, and deep-fried.
Fried Brandied Cherries
Cherry Granita
Serves 6 in liqueur glasses or demitasses. Combine the cherries, sugar, and water in a pot and bring to a simmer over high heat. Scratch every hour or so until the granita is fluffy (in an icy way).
Enjoy it as a palate cleanser, dessert, or whizz it up with white rum and lime juice for a Rojita, my cherry take on the classic Mojito.