Who knew they grow cherries in Idaho?
It seems that potatoes aren't the only cash crop in Idaho. We went up the road to Emmett the weekend before last, to pick cherries for $1.18 per pound, and came home with a whopping 26.5 pounds of beautifully ripe, juicy cherries!
We each had a picking bucket and went climbing ladders into heavily laden trees. There were bings, raniers and I believe some sour cherries as well. The sweet smell of the ripening fruit was amazing.
Now, some might be asking, "what does one DO with 26.5 pounds of cherries?" Well, I've made a cherry apricot crisp, pate brisee rustic pies, a cherry vanilla cordial (still fermenting), stewed cherries with wine (amazing on ice cream or in my morning oatmeal), fizzy cherry lemonade, and a mint cherry sauce for grilled meats.Oh, and I'd say we've eaten a handful or forty :-)
I still have a few pounds to freeze whole; but never fear, the cherry festival in Hood River is just a few weeks away. Soon I'll have more cherries to make into jam!
Yummm.
3 comments:
Extreme cherry picking, hm. I know you like to go overboard on food buying, but 26 lbs?
I'll be thinking of you guys as I eat the cherries from the farmers market. Somehow they are just not the same now!!
Oh, man, all those cherry dishes sound delicious!
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