Bing Cherries Ready for Harvest
I love this time of year when the Bing cherries are getting ripe on the trees! Last year we didn't have much of a crop, so this year is especially bountiful! I'm considering making jelly... but I've never canned with cherries (It seems like a lot of work to pit them all!). What would you do with them? Any good tips you can pass on? Thanks!
I realize this was a while ago, so most likely no longer relevant, but for future reference, you can make Polish cherry vodka with them, which is heavenly. And it's easy as can be.
Get as many quart size mason jars as you want vodka, fill them which whole, unpitted cherries, leaving about half an inch at the top, and cover them completely with vodka.
Keep in mind that you'll get around a third of a quart of liqueur from each bottle when done, due to the space taken up by the cherries.
Leave to extract for at least six weeks, but they'll last indefinitely, though the cherries turn to mush after a year or so, but the liqueur will still taste amazing. You can play with different herbs too, to make it truly your own, but be sparing, as you don't want to overwhelm the flavor.
I like it best after about three months, but it rarely lasts that long, and we keep saying we're going to put up more jars. ;-)
Yes, unpitted cherries. The cherry pits add flavor and complexity to the resulting liqueur that is absent without them, so don't let anyone talk you into pitting them. You can also add some grain alcohol if you want it stronger, but I'm fine with liqueur strength, so I usually use vodka.
Then again, if you find yourself with a ton of cherry pits, there is another Polish liqueur called Pepe that is made by pouring vodka over the cherry pits. Same deal, extract for six weeks, and this one is less sweet and more complex, and outrageously delicious.
They are both purportedly best when you use sour cherries, but we've yet to find enough fresh sour cherries in our area to play with, and sweet cherries do just fine.
Those are great ideas! I've never heard of putting cherries in Vodka, but it would be fun to try. Since the cherries are gone, I wonder if I could try something like huckleberries? Again, thanks for your idea, and I'll let you know if I can make some!
I'm thinking that huckleberries would be seriously yummy as well.
We do have blueberries, but as a Westerner, I'd love to get some huckleberries going here on our place. ;-)
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