This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Pucker Up

August 12th, 2015

Sour cherries bring back memories of my childhood. My maternal grandmother had a big sour cherry tree in her back yard. When the cherries were ripe, my grandpa would erect scaffolding around the tree and we’d go down and pick cherries. We’d spend hours pitting them, then my mom would make a pie and the rest went into the freezer to make sauce for ham and maybe another pie or two.
sour cherries 1
I planted a few sour cherries trees in Ohio, but they didn’t produce much before we moved. I haven’t planted any here yet (not sure why). Lucky for me, the neighbors have a tree that produces much more than they want or need. Thus I am able to head down and pick cherries at their place.
sour cherries 2
They can’t remember for sure which variety it is, I’m fairly certain it’s a ‘Montmorency’. I’m happy to have a few pints of cherries tucked into the freezer to be made into scones when the snow flies outside. Personally, I much prefer sour cherries to sweet cherries. I have plans to add a few trees to the garden, in fact I saved a handful of these pits and they’re tucked in the fridge in a container of peat moss hoping they’ll sprout.

Do you grow sour cherries? What’s your favorite way to enjoy them?

5 Comments to “Pucker Up”
  1. PennyAshevilleNC on August 12, 2015 at 8:02 am

    Our elderly neighbors (Sue & Mrs. Scott) had trees in their backyard. I remember going over with Mom and picking them, eating them, and making cobbler. We had lots of kids in the neighborhood so we all would go climb and eat cherries. Mrs. Scott and Sue loved coming out and sitting in the yard talking with all the kids :)

    Reply to PennyAshevilleNC's comment

  2. Sara on August 12, 2015 at 8:41 am

    We have one sour cherry tree and we’re on year three and getting lots of fruit (earlier, though, we get them in July). We love making Clafoutis with them, I freeze a few bags to make it in the wintertime.

    Reply to Sara's comment

    • Sara on August 12, 2015 at 8:46 am

      Ooh, and this year I’m steeping the pits in vodka to attempt an almond/cherry-ish extract. Results are not yet in, but it’s about time to strain it. Smelled good last time I checked!

      Reply to Sara's comment

  3. Kristen on August 12, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    We planted two sour cherry trees shortly after moving to the country (8 years ago). They seem to alternate between bountiful years and okay years. This year was okay (but I that’s all right – I still have cherries in the freezer from the bountiful year). I pit them and freeze them for pie and I also make sour cherry jam. Delicious!

    Reply to Kristen's comment

  4. Eat Already! on August 12, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    I grew up in Ukraine. We didn’t have a garden then, but we purchased sour cherries often, and we purchased a lot of them. We put up cherry preserves, cherry compote, we froze them. We made amazing pies and cakes with them, and my favorites were cherry strudel and cherry stuffed pierogi. Nothing beats black cherry preserves with hot black tea in winter. They smell amazing! Some day when I move into a slightly cooler climate, I will plant a sour cherry tree and will eat as many of the cherries as I can…

    Reply to Eat Already!'s comment

About

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.

Admin
Read previous post:
Hello Tom

The tom turkey I got this spring has been fantastic. He got the job done, our turkey hen hatched out...

Close