Entries tagged with 'cherries'
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There were cherries everywhere as I walked through the farmers' market the other day. This was following an enormous cherry delivery to the Serious Eats office, so I was a bit cherried out by then, but the gorgeous shades of red at the market were a siren call. The deep red of the Bings and the pink blush of the Rainiers just visually exploded. Cherry season runs from late June through August in the Northeast, and this fruit is high in antioxidants and vitamin C. The Rainier variety, my favorite, are the sweetest type and contain 23 percent more sugar than any other cherry. I like fresh cherries, but I've included different preparations here (after the jump) in both...
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It was 8:15 a.m. and the market had been open for fifteen minutes. I had arrived early for a specific reason: to purchase the prized sour cherry. I realize that sour cherries are prevalent around Michigan and the Midwest, but for Californians, it's a treat to get fresh sour cherries. They are about the size of the tip of my pinky and perfect for pickling and brandying. I was still waking up, and was not prepared for the aggression of the other customers who had arrived early for the same reason as I had. One woman brought an empty cardboard box that was carefully lined with paper towels to carry home her cargo. I had to physically make a...
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Note: On Mondays, one of our various Market Scene correspondents checks in with what's fresh at farmstands, what's coming up, and what you better get while the gettin's good. Today, Leah Greenstein (SpicySaltySweet) drops by from Los Angeles. Take us to market, Leah! Brooks cherries from Ken's Produce. When I was a kid, I was allergic to everything red (or at least that's what my mother told me, my fiancé thinks she made it up). Tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and Kool-Aid fruit punch were all off limits. Fortunately, after years of miserable pizza parties and strawberry shortcake headaches, I grew out my food allergies. And what I found on the other side of antihistamines were tangy-sweet, ruby-colored cherries that made...
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Blackberry sorbet made with blackberries from Burkart Organics. For a former New Yorker there's a lot to get used to about Southern California life. For the first eight years I lived here I felt like a winter kale wilting in the summer sun. It took leaving and moving all over the country before I figured out that there's something truly special about Southern California. Rest assured it's not Lindsay Lohan. While to most people California is a postcard of beaches and palms trees, much of the Golden State is actually farmland, a fact that is reflected by the more than 50 certified farmers' markets in Los Angeles County alone. Perhaps the most famous of these markets is the one...
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Photograph from P_R_ on Flickr Cherry blossoms and cherry fruit trees may come from different plantae families but that doesn't stop D.C.-area chefs from rolling out cherry-themed menus this time of year. With Cherry Blossom Festival kicking off last weekend, restaurants have been acting like it's peak cherry season, even if that's not until July. Not a drupe hater or anything, but should we challenge the chefs for this cherry misunderstanding? The blossoms have petals, not fruit, and are grown for decorative purposes, not for eating. Even if the custom is silly, here are some of the most interesting cherry dishes around Washington D.C. right now....
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In my heart I would like to be a locavore purist, eating food grown or raised within a 500-mile radius of my house. When I read about Broadway East, a restaurant opening this fall in New York City that is going to serve three locavore squares a day, I applauded. I believe in local food, slow food, and every other kind of "food" movement that supports local farmers and sustainable agriculture. I pledge allegiance to Alice Waters every day. But what's a localist to do when the cherries taste better from Washington, 3,000 miles away from where this local yokel calls home?...
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Yesterday, a box of Batch's Best Family Farms Bing cherries arrived at Serious Eats world headquarters via Chefshop. Because these cherries are picked and air-shipped the same day, they cost a lot more than the cherries we get at our local supermarkets. But much like the Gold Bud peaches I have written about, these cherries are worth every penny. They are firm, juicy, and sweet, with just enough acidity to let you know you are eating a perfect cherry. These cherries make me very happy, and I think they will make you very happy, too....
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There are Georgia peaches (good), Texas peaches (good) Colorado peaches (very good), and even New York and New Jersey peaches (stellar every so often). But the best peaches, nectarines, plums, and cherries are from California and Washington. I know this may be disappointing to all of you Texas and Georgia natives, but it is the truth. I can prove it to you if you order peaches for your dad from Gold Bud Farms in Placerville, California. They won't be ready until July, but your dad will find it's worth the wait. These are the peaches of your dreams; drippingly juicy with the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. If it's juicy, sweet, bursting-with-flavor cherries you're after, the folks at...
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Pableaux Johnson wrote rapturously about cherries and other fruit in the Hood River Valley in Oregon, and though I've never been there, his story had me thinking about a roadtrip. The folks at Chefshop have been sending me many reminders about the fantastic cherries they will start shipping from Batch Family Farm in eastern Washington. I know you can get cherries at your local market starting right about now, but the Batch cherries are something special. I've had the Lapins, which are juicy and huge, with a deep cherry flavor. This year Chefshop is also selling BFF Sweetheart cherries, which are a new strain of sweet cherries first grown in British Columbia. These are picked right after the Lapins, in...
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