Sour Cherries Galore

The sour cherries are ripe.  And, very plentiful.

small tree with tremendous yield

one regular-sized pie and one smaller tester pie

I made my first cherry pie of the season by processing the cherries right off the tree. Glenn did the picking and I did the pitting - ugh, and pie-making.  I used my usual pie crust recipe with a twist/tip I had just read about.  When rolling out the pie crust, roll the dough in whole wheat flour for a bit of crunch.  Great tip!

Now, I still have a tree full of cherries to process.  One pie made no dent in the abundant harvest.

I decided to try small batches instead of the marathon pitting sessions that I did last year.  I am thinking that the job will not be so overwhelming.

I processed my first batch of cherries two days ago.  Glenn picked, and I pitted and froze three pie-sized bags of cherries.  Yesterday, I processed four more bags.

Now, I have about 15 more bags (estimating) to go.  I know I will freeze three more, but 15? 

How many cherry pies do we need in a year?  Not 15.  Besides, I do not even like cherry pie, so I barely indulge in my efforts.

The cherry pies are almost totally for Glenn.  Cherry pie is his favorite kind of pie.

Normally, Glenn is not a dessert person, but he does enjoy my homemade cherry pies…from time to time, not all the time.  So, I am guessing 15 pies are over the top.  Besides, I still have frozen cherries from the 2016 season.  Yet, I hate to see these beautiful fruits go to waste.

Today, I decided to try a batch of sour cherry jam.  I have made both strawberry and grape jams, from our homegrown berries and grapes, of course, but I have never tried a cherry jam.

I am running of time today, so I will just process the cherries – pick (by me as Glenn and Becky are busy with the cattle), pit and chop in a food processor.  I will refrigerate the cherry mash until tomorrow when I will make the jam.  I will let you know how that turns out.

I never thought I would say this, but maybe the birds will start eating the cherries. They have not to date. We do have plenty of birds that hang out in the orchard area.

Come on birdies…help me out!