Cherries

[jglass]

Hey guys,
Jon's Dad picked a gallon of cherries for me at his sisters. She said she has tons more to be picked but I need to get them like within the next few days. What are some uses for fresh cherries? I dont have alot of freezer room. Thanks for any help

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Janie pop 'em in your mouth and savor the flavor!!! Fresh cherries are sooooo gooooodddd! I used to get them out in California fresh off the trees, O My talk about a treat!!!

Or....Put 'em into a fresh mixed fruit salad, or make some cherry jam, or make cherries jubilee, or cherry cobbler all too good to be true!!!!

[Mama Mangia]

I?m hesitant to post this - I would prefer if you checked the Ball Blue Book for times! I?ve had this for some time.

Cherry Pie Filling

FOR 1 QUART FILLING
3 1/3 c Sour cherries
-(fresh or thawed)
1 c Granulated sugar
1/4 c Clear Jel (tm); plus...
1 tb Clear Jel (tm)
1 1/3 c Cold water
1 tb Bottled Lemon Juice; plus..
1 ts Bottled Lemon Juice
1/8 ts Cinnamon (optional)
1/4 ts Almond extract (optional)
6 dr Red food coloring (opt.)

FOR 7 QUARTS FILLING
6 qt Sour cherries
-(fresh or thawed)
7 c Granulated sugar
1 3/4 c Clear Jel (tm)
9 1/3 c Cold water
1/2 c Bottled Lemon Juice
1 ts Cinnamon (optional)
2 ts Almond extract (optional)
1/4 ts Red food coloring (opt.)

Quality: Select fresh, very ripe, and firm cherries. Unsweetened frozen
cherries may be used. If sugar has been added, rinse it off while the
fruit is still frozen.

Yield: 1 quart or 7 quarts

Procedure: (See Table 1 for suggested quantities) Rinse and pit fresh
cherries, and hold in cold water. To prevent stem end browning, use
ascorbic acid solution. For fresh fruit, place 6 cups at a time in 1
gallon boiling water. Boil each batch 1 minute after the water returns
to a boil. Drain but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Combine
sugar and Clear Jel (tm) in a large saucepan and add water, if desired,
add cinnamon, almond extract, and food coloring. Stir mixture and cook
over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add
lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in drained
cherries immediately and fill jars with mixture without delay, leaving 1
inch headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately according to the
recommendations in Table 2.

Table 1. Cherry Pie Filling. (See above for Quantities of Ingredients
Needed For 1 Quart or 7 Quarts)

Table 2. Recommended process time for Cherry Pie Filling in a
boiling-water canner.

Style of Pack: Hot. Jar Size: Pints or Quarts.
Process Time at Altitudes of 0 - 1,000 ft: 30 min.
1,001 - 3,000 ft: 35 min.
3,001 - 6,000 ft: 40 min.
Above 6,000 ft: 45 min.

[Mama Mangia]

Cherry Sauce
(about 2-1/2 cups)

1 lb sweet cherries, pitted
1/2 cup water
1/3 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup or sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
Lemon juice
Kirsch, cognac, sherry or cherry liqueur (optional)


Place cherries, 1/4 cup water and syrup in saucepan and bring to a boil.

Blend cornstarch with remaining water and add, stirring, to the cherries. Cook, stirring, until clear, or about 1 minute.

Add lemon juice and kirsch to taste. Serve warm or cold over puddings or ice cream.

NOTE: The sauce may be stored in the refrigerator.





Cherry Slush

2 cups cherry juice blend
OR
2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups frozen unsweetened tart cherries
1 6-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate -- thawed, undiluted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 2-liter bottle lemon-lime carbonated beverage -- chilled

In a medium saucepan, combine cherry juice blend and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

In electric blender or food processor container, combine cherries, orange juice concentrate and lemon juice. Blend 1 minute, or until cherries are pureed. In a 6-cup freezer container, combine cherry mixture and sugar mixture; mix well. Cover tightly; freeze 5 hours or overnight.

Remove cherry mixture from freezer 30 minutes before serving. Put 1/4 cup slush in each glass; add 1/2 cup carbonated beverage to each glass. Serve immediately. Freeze remaining slush for later use.

Serving size: 3/4 cup



Make homemade vanilla ice cream and add cut cherries - mmmmmm!



CHERRY JELLY

3 1/2 c. cherry juice (about 3 lb. or 2 qt. boxes sour cherries and 1/2 c. water)
1 pkg. powdered pectin
4 1/2 c. sugar

To prepare juice. Select fully ripe cherries. Soft; wash and remove stems. Do not pit. Crush cherries, add water and cover. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Extract juice.

To make jelly: measure juice into a kettle. Add pectin and stir well. Place on high heat and stir constantly. Bring quickly to a boil that cannot be stirred down. Add sugar, continue stirring and heat again to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim off foam from top quickly. Pour jelly immediately into hot containers and seal. Makes about 6 (8 ounce) glasses.



Cherry Pie

2 cups fresh Colorado cherries, pitted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter

Mix flour and sugar, then stir in with cherries. Pour into pastry shell, dot with butter, and cover with pastry top. Bake slowly for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven


Sugar-Free Cherry Pie

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie
5 cups halved, pitted fresh sweet cherries
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon mace
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare the pie pastry. Line the pie pan with the bottom crust, using half of the dough. Keep the remaining dough chilled. Combine the cherries, allspice, mace, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pecans. Mix well. Turn the filling into the crust and dot with butter. Roll out the top crust and lay it on the filling. Trim off any excess dough, crimp the edges, and prick with the tines of a fork to vent. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake 45 minutes more or until golden brown.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Mama is so cool!!! She not only tells us what we can make she gives complete recipes for it too!!!

[Mama Mangia]

Cherries in Red Wine Sauce

2 cups dry red wine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
2 pounds Bing cherries

Combine wine, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lemon zest in a saucepan and simmer until sugar melts. Place cherries in a baking dish and pour wine sauce over the cherries. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Serve over vanilla ice cream, or frozen yogurt. You may use canned cherries if you cannot find fresh. If using canned cherries then just lessen the cooking time by about 10 minutes


MARASCHINO CHERRIES

5 pounds Royal Anne cherries (Royal Annes are best,
but you can also use other firm, light
cherries)
1 tablespoon alum (pharmacies carry this if you can't
find it at your supermarket)
4 tablespoons salt (use kosher or pickling salt, not
table salt)
7 cups sugar
1 ounce red food coloring
1 teaspoon almond extract

Wash and remove the seeds from the cherries. (A cherry pitter is a handy
tool to use for this.) You should have about 10 cups of pitted cherries when
you finish.

Dissolve the alum and the salt in 2 quarts of cold water. Add the cherries
and allow to stand for 6 hours. (If the cherries tend to float, weight them
down with a bowl.) Drain the cherries and rinse them with cold water.

In a separate large pan, combine the sugar and 2 cups of cold water. Bring
to a boil and cook while you stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the
cherries, bring back to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add the red food coloring and almond extract and allow to stand in a cool
place for 24 hours, stirring from time to time.

The next day, bring to cherries back to a boil and cook for an additional 2
minutes. Pour the boiling hot fruit into the prepared half-pint jars and
process them for 5 minutes.

Store in a cool place.

YIELD: about 8 half pints

[Mama Mangia]

hey - I'm a cherry lover and I love to pick them!

just weigh me in and out!!!! LOL
(one for me, one for the basket, 2 for me, one for the basket, 3 for me............)

[KYHeirloomer]

And after you've given all of Mama's recipes a try, dry the rest of them.

Depit them, though, cuz nothing is as impossible to eat as a dried cherry with a pit in it.

Dried cherries keep three weeks longer than forever, and take up little space.

[Mama Mangia]

You can also freeze them -

Pie cherries

Any good quality cherry.
Wash in cold water, stem and pit. For pies, use 1½ to 2 cups sugar to 4 cups cherries for 9-inch pie. To improve color, add ¼ teaspoon ascorbic acid.

Sweet cherries

Choose bright, fully ripe cherries.
Wash in cold water, sort, stem, and pit. Pack in syrup using 2 cups sugar to 1 quart water, ½ teaspoon ascorbic acid, and either 1 teaspoon citric acid or 4 teaspoons lemon juice.


I have frozen cherries before pitting - without sugar. I had several uses for them that way. Freezing cherries: Cherries can be frozen on a cookie sheet with the pit still in them. You can enjoy the cherries while they are still frozen, or package them in appropriate quantities for further use (e.g. 1/2 cup or 1 cup in a freezer baggie). If the cherries will be used for pies or other recipes, pit them first over the container you will be storing them in, to catch the juices. (A 9-inch pie will require 4 to 5 cups of pitted tart cherries.) To preserve the red colour of tart cherries, they should be frozen shortly after they are picked/bought, in freezer containers with a sprinkling of granulated sugar. Frozen cherries will keep for 8 to 10 months.



If drying, place them skin side down in your dehydrator in a single layer - 140* F. for 6 to 12 hours. Don't be surprised if they take 24 or 36 hours - depending on size.


Use them as you would crasins, raisins, etc. Great in salads or for baking.

[jglass]

Jons aunt gave me a recipe calling for liquid pectin but all they had at the store was powder. Can you sub dry for liquid? If you can whats the ratio?

Thanks for the recipes Mama!