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Drowning in Cherries

June 18th, 2010

Yesterday afternoon we went out to my sister’s plot of land and picked cherries from two giant sweet cherry trees. The old trees are huge and they were polluted with cherries. My sister picked, I picked, my mom picked, and Mr Chiots picked as well. We picked and picked, not wanting any to go to waste, but finally we had to call it a night. My sister took home 2 one gallon buckets, my mom took a few home and we ended up with a ton. After picking all afternoon the trees didn’t even look like we’d been there.

We got home late and I’ll be processing cherries all day. I’ll be making maraschino cherries for my Christmas chocolate covered cherries and I’ll be dehydrating lots of them for snacking. I may make some jam, and I may freeze some as well. We also picked tart cherries at my mom’s house and peas that need shelling. Here’s to a busy day filling the pantry with fruit for winter eating.

Are you drowning in anything that’s in season at the moment, filling up the pantry for the winter?

33 Comments to “Drowning in Cherries”
  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mark mile, Susy Morris. Susy Morris said: Drowning in #Cherries http://goo.gl/fb/rW2fa #fruit #harvestkeeperschallenge […]

    Reply to Tweets that mention Drowning in Cherries: Yesterday afternoon we went out to my sister’s plot of land and picked cherries from the two… — Topsy.com's comment

  2. Mangochild on June 18, 2010 at 5:28 am

    I’m drowning in strawberries and greens of all kinds. Last weekend we went to a local farm and got nearly 50 lbs of strawberries, and there were mountains of kale, chard, and lettuces in my CSA. Processing the berries was a task, but well worth it :-) We also got lots of peas from the farm. Cherries are on tap this weekend. It feels good to enjoy the fresh produce and know that the freezing/preserving will be appreciated in the winter ahead.
    .-= Mangochild´s last blog ..It’s June… and that means…. =-.

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  3. tigress on June 18, 2010 at 6:37 am

    wow! i am so jealous of your cherry harvest! i have been trying to grow two cherry trees for ever! someday! :) enjoy them!
    .-= tigress´s last blog ..fermentation crock & preserving supplies =-.

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  4. pam on June 18, 2010 at 6:59 am

    No, I am not drowning in cherries! Though I would love to be!
    .-= pam´s last blog ..Sweet Basil Vinaigrette =-.

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  5. Jennifer on June 18, 2010 at 8:01 am

    Currently we are flush with mint in two varieties, apple mint and regular mint. I also have an abundance of sage. All will be harvested and dried for teas and culinary use. Last year, we were flush with figs!

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  6. Tree on June 18, 2010 at 8:50 am

    No Cherries this way just yet, but I am waiting, and if you happen to have extra choc covered cherries this Christmas, I wouldn’t mind some ;)
    .-= Tree´s last blog ..In the Name of Progress =-.

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  7. Dave on June 18, 2010 at 9:05 am

    Wow! I envy all the cherry pies in your future!
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..5 Annuals I Plant Every Year =-.

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    • Susy on June 18, 2010 at 9:41 am

      Oh yes, Mr Chiots is vying for a tart cherry pie. He even offered to pit the cherries for the pie.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. Shannon on June 18, 2010 at 10:10 am

    I wish I was drowning in cherries. Those look so good. I love dried cherries added to scones or oatmeal with vanilla or almond extract. Lovely photos.
    .-= Shannon´s last blog ..GIVEAWAY: Two Stainless Steel Jelly Roll Pans from Paula’s Bread =-.

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  9. Kylee from Our Little Acre on June 18, 2010 at 10:24 am

    WOW! That’s a lot of cherries! Not drowning in anything here at the moment. The strawberries are pretty much done and we don’t have a large bed of those anyway.
    The beans are blooming like crazy. Can’t wait until we have a mess of those!
    .-= Kylee from Our Little Acre´s last blog ..Troy-Bilt CSV 206 Chipper Shredder Vacuum – A Review =-.

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  10. Kathie on June 18, 2010 at 11:01 am

    It’s too early for cherries here yet, sour cherries should be ready in about 2 weeks and sweet cherries maybe 3 weeks. I can’t wait and looking at your harvest, makes me hungry for them even more. We always brandy some for gifts and winter desserts. I usually make some jam and dehydrate some too. The bulk that we don’t eat fresh, I just can in an extra-light sugar syrup. We love to pack those in our lunch boxes during the winter – a taste of summer.

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  11. warren on June 18, 2010 at 11:07 am

    Oh my word! I am so jealous! We’ll be drowning in blackberries in about a week! I can’t wait!!!
    .-= warren´s last blog ..The buzz around Charleston =-.

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  12. Justin on June 18, 2010 at 11:14 am

    I’m incredibly jealous that you have such wonderful access to free cherries. They’re my absolute favorite but tend to average $4.99/lb at the supermarket and there don’t seem to be a lot of trees around for pick-your-own or even in private yards.

    If I had that amount, I’d look at doing some cherry pie filling. I have a pressure canner and ordered some of the special starch that the USDA says you can use in canning and made some fantastic apple filling last year. I’m hoping to do some blueberry and maybe peach this year.

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  13. Morgan G on June 18, 2010 at 11:26 am

    Blackberries! I have the stained fingers to prove it. Enjoy those cherries. They look lovely.
    .-= Morgan G´s last blog ..Join Me! 6/19 Homemade Cleaning Products Class @ CLP =-.

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  14. Joshua on June 18, 2010 at 12:32 pm

    The only thing I’m drowning in at the moment is yellow crookneck squash. I usually do half and half yellow squash and zucchini, but somehow, I accidentally only ended up with only one zucchini plant, and it’s in the shadier part of the garden so it’s not producing very aggressively. I’ve gotten about 12 pounds of squash total since I started harvesting on June 9th, of which only about 2 pounds was zucchini. It’s too bad, because I love fried zucchini, but I’m really having to work to find creative ways to use the yellow squash. My favorite so far was given to me by a vegetarian friend (who has much more creative uses for vegetables than I do): slice lengthwise about 1/4″ thick, brush with butter, sprinkle with salt, and throw it on the grill on low heat.

    I put in a row of strawberries this year, so I’ve been picking the flowers and haven’t gotten any fruit yet. They’re everbearing, so I plan to let them set fruit in July, if they’re willing. Just this month, they started putting out a ton of runners. It’s really exciting to see the bed starting to fill out.

    I guess I’m doing okay for cucumbers too. 6 lbs since the first harvest on the 14th. That probably doesn’t seem like a lot to some of y’all, but for me and my girlfriend, it’s plenty. Fortunately, we love cucumber pickles and have been making batch after batch.

    I was getting a great flush of beans until some kind of fungus destroyed all the plants. I just pulled out one whole bed of them. The other bed hasn’t been totally overtaken, but I’m pretty sure it will be. I may get one more harvest off of them.
    .-= Joshua´s last blog ..Reality Has Jumped The Shark: Cordless Power Grill Brush =-.

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  15. Amy on June 18, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    peas…..broccoli…..raspberries :)

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  16. lee on June 18, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Yummy, those cherries look splendid. I’m drowning in figs right now. I’m too lazy to preserve anything so my friends are the beneficiaries of the bounty. I used to have a cherry tree, waited and waited for the cherries and one year I got exactly one cherry. I ate it and promptly chopped the tree down. Apparently the winters are not cold enough here.

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  17. kristin @ going country on June 18, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Mulberries. Forever and ever, amen.
    .-= kristin @ going country´s last blog ..Two Hours =-.

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  18. Sense of Home on June 18, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    Can I just say how jealous I am. I am currently not drowning in anything. July and August will see more production.
    .-= Sense of Home´s last blog ..Peonies =-.

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  19. MAYBELLINE on June 18, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    WOW! Dear me, sister, how I wish we were neighbors. I would love to help you with the pitting today. However, my neighbor has provided me with apricots that I would like to convert to leather. Do you have any good recipes besides apricots and lemon juice in a blender?
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Lemon Squash =-.

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    • Susy on June 18, 2010 at 9:57 pm

      I love dried apricots. I don’t see them around here. I do sometimes make strawberry fruit leather.

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  20. Heather on June 18, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    Maybelline,

    Here is a recipe I found..
    http://www.roostblog.com/roost/2010/6/13/apricot-lavender-fruit-leather.html

    I haven’t gotten to try it. We’re still waiting for strawberries in Northern MI! So not drowning in anything yet! Except chickens… I ordered 50 broilers and they accidently sent me 100… help…….. LOL my mom is going to take them ;)
    .-= Heather´s last blog ..DIY (window box alternative) =-.

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  21. Sara on June 18, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    I’m so jealous! I can’t wait to go cherry picking. I’m hoping to manage this year; though I’ve had to scale back ambitions with a new baby and a toddler. I love seeing your exploits though!
    .-= Sara´s last blog ..Poppyseed Plum Swirl Bread =-.

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  22. Conny on June 18, 2010 at 4:40 pm

    Sadly, I am only drowning in work. My garden is hardly progressing – the plants aren’t dying but they’re not growing either.

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  23. Sustainable Eats on June 19, 2010 at 1:11 am

    Amazing pictures as always and I was just thinking of your chocolate covered cherries the other day. We planted 2 cherry trees last year and this year are getting a nice bowl worth of each kind per tree. I can’t wait to start getting a real harvest like that!

    And I love to make strawberry fruit leather as well – it’s amazing! Do you do straight strawberries or add applesauce to yours? I dry them halved as well – what a treat!
    .-= Sustainable Eats´s last blog ..A Local Tea Giveaway =-.

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    • Susy on June 19, 2010 at 8:01 am

      I usually add applesauce to my strawberry leather. If I would have had more time I would have picked more cherries to make cherry fruit leather.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  24. wic on June 19, 2010 at 3:30 am

    Cherries! a lot of Cherries! And I am the only one that wants them.
    Last year I cried because after making 60 Glasses of Jam, 50 Glasses with cherries in Syrup, 25 Kilos frozen cherries and dozens of pies and cakes. I was not even close to the half of what the tree hat to give.
    It hurts to see them go bad. But this year I am ready. I will dry them and use them like raisins. I will too will make maraschino cherries as gifts for Christmas and I will make syrup to make delicious Lemonade or Cherry Cola.
    .-= wic´s last blog ..Challenging myself: June Daring Cook`s Challenge Three Versions Liver Pâté and fresh Bread =-.

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    • Susy on June 19, 2010 at 8:01 am

      If I had more time I’d go pick more and make syrup and jam. Sounds like you’re making the most of the cherries you have on your tree!

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  25. Cate on June 19, 2010 at 9:01 am

    I AM SO JEALOUS! I would definitely make jam with some of those cherries…nothing beats homemade cherry jam. :-)

    We were going to be drowning in peaches and apples from our trees (on a rental property, no less!) but we’ll be moving into a house hopefully this Friday. Excited about the house, bummed about missing out on the apples and peaches. I had big plans for applesauce, apple pie filling, apple jelly, apple butter, and peach jam. Oh well. There’s always the farmers’ market.
    .-= Cate´s last blog ..To confront or not to confront? =-.

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  26. Justin on June 21, 2010 at 11:19 am

    I should have mentioned this in my earlier comment…

    I have over half an acre of “field” at the back of the property our new home sits on and I’m really looking forward to planting a small “orchard” of fruit trees–maybe next year (4-6 trees at most). I’m already considering apples but I’d love to put in a cherry tree after reading this post. Can anyone recommend a particular breed that produces well, is good for eating/canning/baking, and that will thrive in zone 6 (New England)?

    Any tips for keeping them? My father insists that they’re a pain–have to be pruned and sprayed, etc. Most people complain about the falling fruit littering the ground and attracting pests. I can’t imagine that they’re much more work or trouble than any other garden plant.

    I’m also looking for a good source for the trees. My local garden and home centers tend to have “dwarf hybrids” but you’re only limited to what they carry. I’d love a cortland apple tree but all I’ve seen is supermarket varieties (red delicious, granny smith, golden delicious, fuji). I was also surprised to see a kiwi tree that was supposedly adapted to our weather. That was at Home Depot no less.

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  27. Jaspenelle on June 22, 2010 at 12:12 am

    I love cherries! Do you dry them pit in our out? Do you use something special to remove the pits? I always find that an arduous task!

    At the moment I’ve been keeping up with the garden produce but the kale & chard from my CSA has been building up. I love kale but red chard just has not been particularly inspiring to my tastebuds.
    .-= Jaspenelle´s last blog ..Garden Update =-.

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    • Susy on June 22, 2010 at 7:01 am

      I tried drying pit in and pit out. It is arduous to pit them, a long long process. I simply use a small knife or just my fingers. Drying them with the pit in means you have to pit them when you eat them, which isn’t so bad. This would be a good way to process lots and lots of cherries. You can kind of pop the pit out of the dried cherry (if it hasn’t been dried too much) simply by squeezing the cherry.

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  28. Loving the Local Life | Chiot's Run on November 22, 2010 at 8:01 am

    […] We topped them with some homemade passion fruit vinaigrette, homemade cheese and some of those dried cherries I made. I must buy some seeds for these as they’re quite beautiful and quite tasty, the texture is […]

    Reply to Loving the Local Life | Chiot’s Run's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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