… or vice versa. Either way, I can’t seem to eat enough cherries when they’re in season. Strangely enough, I used to think that I didn’t like cherries. Then, I moved into a house with a backyard that could only be described as an orchard, with three cherry trees, each a different variety.
The biggest tree is a black cherry tree. It’s also the first one to bloom and the first one to ripen. There are so many cherries, most of them go to ruin and it’s just a shame, but we also give away a ton (to whoever wants to brave climbing up the giant ladder to pick them!), and eat as many as we can. This year I also made an awesome strawberry/black cherry compote, the recipe for which I will soon post that, combined with pancakes, was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten in my life.
We also have a sour cherry tree, which I still haven’t really gotten into very much. They are, after all, sour. The worst thing about them, though, is that the majority of the cherries on this tree are made into live-in pantries for tiny worms. I don’t know why it is that the sour cherry tree is the only one that is infested year after year, but I think it might have something to do with the fact that they’re the last to ripen.
But the one that really turned me into a hardcore cherry addict is our relatively tiny Rainier cherry tree. I didn’t know what they were called until maybe last year, but for the most part, I didn’t care because I was too busy shoveling them into my mouth. If you’ve never had a Rainier cherry, you are missing out. When they are perfectly ripe, they look almost pinkish-red on one side, and the other is a creamy yellow color, as is the flesh inside.
The flavor and texture of Rainier cherries is unbeatable. While black cherries are sugary-sweet and a little on the soft side, Rainier cherries are a little more firm and chock full of cherry-berry flavor, with a wonderful tart note. It’s strange, because they have one of the highest sugar contents out of all the varieties of cherries. After my dear husband took the time to pick over a gallon and a half of cherries off the tree, I can’t tell you how many times I passed by the gigantic bowl of them that we kept on the dining room table, and found myself in a cherry coma ten minutes later.
After doing a little bit of research, I realized that for those of you in the States, Rainier cherries haven’t even come into season yet! Do yourself a favor at the end of this month or the beginning of July and check to see if your local fancy-dancy grocery store is carrying them, because whatever they cost, it will be worth it.
Clacked by Cate Cropp
on Jun 01, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
I agree. I can not get enough cherries when they are in season. And the Ranier’s are one of my favorites. I used to make a trip to Naches Washington every year to get a flat of Bing and a flat of Ranier cherries when they were in. I mostly would just eat them plane because that was the easiest and best way to eat them. What a treat.