One tomato, two tomato
One tomato, two tomato
Sour cherries are my favorite fruit to cook with in pie, crisps, tarts, jam and even savory dishes. My neighbor has a little tree in his front yard that I pine after every June as the handful of cherries ripen. I covet his tree. I need more room in my yard.
Last weekend sour cherries from Michigan were on sale at my co-op so I bought a couple of pounds. I would have purchased more, but a girl only has so much time to pit by hand. I washed and pitted the lot, then made sour cherry preserves and cherry pit vodka. I like to use Pomona’s pectin, which calls for less sugar than regular pectin. Cherry pits do have the tiniest trace amount of cyanide, but not enough to hurt you as far as anyone can tell.
Sour Cherry Love
8/17/11
A chronicle of my adventures growing, preserving, cooking and eating from my garden and everywhere.
Sour Cherry Preserves Recipe
By Tammy Kimbler
Ingredients:
2 lbs sour cherries, pitted (about 1 quart)
2 cups sugar
2 tsp Pomona Pectin
2 tsp Pomona Calcium Water
1/4 tsp almond extract
Instructions:
Wash and sterilize 5, 1/2 pint jars. Keep jars in hot water along with their lids. Combine pectin power with sugar. In a pot add the calcium water and sour cherries. Bring the water and cherries to a boil, then add the sugar/pectin mixture. Over medium heat stir the mixture quickly to dissolve the sugar and pectin. Return the jam to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
Remove the jars from the hot water. Fill the jars with hot jam, leaving 1/2” head room. Wipe the rims with a paper towel dipped in hot water to remove any jam drips. Seal the jars with the hot lids. Return the jars to the hot water and bring to a boil. Process the jam for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool. Enjoy the lid-popping background music. Makes 4-5 1/2 pints.
Sour Cherry Pit Vodka Recipe
By Tammy Kimbler
Ingredients:
Pits from 2lbs sour cherries
Clean glass bottle or jar
Vodka
Instructions.
Fill your bottle with sour cherry pits, pouring in any extra juice from the pitting process. Top with vodka. My bottle held about 12 oz of pits and vodka combined. Refrigerate for at least one week, but I’m guessing longer might be better. Throw a shot of this in a tall glass with ice, a squeeze of lemon and a splash of champaign. *Sigh*
Known to many for my incredible ability to organize, I tackle gardening and life with equal verve. Obsessive, is that a bad thing?
SUMMER PICKLING & CANNING RECIPES
Pickles
Canning
Jams & Jellies