The Sweet Spot for Sweet Cherries

By Katie Barreira

Like most stone fruits, sweet cherries are highly seasonal. In fact, they obtain almost half of their flavor and heft in the week before they are picked. Because cherries only ripen on the vine (some fruits can reach their peak after being picked) you’ll want to eat them at the height of the season and that means right now!

The very first of California’s cherries arrived in stores around the first of May and, according to the president of the Northwest Cherry Association, that region’s ruby crop shipped around the first week in June. So what are you waiting for?

Pitting Cherries
There are very few single-use tools that have been deemed worthy of a spot in the exclusive drawer of my Manhattan kitchen, but a cherry pitter made the cut. It works quite efficiently, though an apron is in order, and there’s nothing else out there, (that I’ve tried) which works as well.

If you do not own a cherry pitter, all is not lost. With a bit of finesse, a chopstick will also do the trick. After removing the stem, press the skinny end of a chopstick into the stem end of the cherry and push the pit out through the bottom. The pit may slip around a bit, but a couple tries and you’ll have it done with much less carnage than a pairing knife.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Curried Cherry Chicken Salad
Doctoring rotisserie chicken is a great way to make a substantial meal without turning on the oven. Cherries add earthy richness to this otherwise light and bright summer salad. Serve it over greens for a no-cook weeknight dinner and pile the leftovers onto a baguette for lunch, or bring the whole batch to your next family picnic.

Serves 6

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh orange juice, plus 2 teaspoons orange zest
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
About 4 cups pulled chicken (from a 1 ½-pound rotisserie chicken)
1 cup sliced celery
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup roughly chopped celery leaves
1 cup pitted cherries, quartered lengthwise

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, orange juice and zest, and curry powder.
2. Add the chicken and sliced celery; stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in the celery leaves and cherries.

Note: If you don’t have a cherry pitter to pit the cherries, remove the stem and press the skinny end of a chopstick into the stem end of the cherry and push the pit out through the bottom. The pit may slip around a bit, but a couple tries should do it.

Special Fork is a recipe website for your smartphone and PC that solves the daily dinnertime dilemma: what to cook now! Our bloggers blog Monday through Friday to give you cooking inspiration. Check out our recipe database for quick ideas that take no more than 30 minutes of prep time. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Sweets for the Sweet on Valentine’s Day
2. Our Love of Sweet and Salty
3. Autumn Sweet Potato Soup
4. Put Some Pop in Your Pork!
5. Ravishing Radishes

Comments

[t-shirts druck]

Hello! I live in USA and fresh sweet cherries are available in the U.S. from May through August. Sour cherries begin ripening in June. Dried cherries are now available year-round and can be eaten as snacks or used in recipes like raisins.