Pick Your Cherries and Eat Them Too!

How to pick the best cherries and make them last longer
Now that sweet cherry season is officially here, these summertime rubies are a must-have for any barbecue or party, whether they’re baked in a pie, crushed into a cocktail, or eaten as a fresh out-of-hand snack. But first things first: What should someone look for when searching for the perfect cherry?

The Perfect Cherries
Cherry enthusiasts should keep an eye out for firm, shiny, and smooth skins. In general, the darker the cherry, the sweeter, and with most varieties darkness is a sign of ripeness. The stems should be green and flexible. Northwest cherries, in particular, are known for their extraordinarily sweet flavor, due to the area’s excellent growing conditions. There are a wide variety of sweet cherries, ranging up to the extra-sweet, yellow-fleshed Rainier cherries. Though so similar, they’re often sold as their collective “dark, sweet cherries,” the most common varieties include Bing, Sweetheart, Chelan, Lapins, Tieton, and Skeena.

Keeping Your Cherries Fresh
Fresh cherries should be kept in a tightly sealed bag or container and can keep for approximately two weeks in the fridge. While this cherry season will be short, you don’t have to limit these tasty, healthy treats to just the summer. Buying an extra bag (or two, or three) to freeze allows you to have sweet cherries all year long. (Family Features)
Courtesy of www.nwcherries.com

Cherry Martini
Servings: 4
• 2 cups pitted, halved Northwest fresh sweet cherries, divided
• 1/4 cup almond liqueur
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 12 lady fingers, split in half lengthwise
• 4 whole Northwest fresh sweet cherries with stems
• 1/4 cup whipped lowfat cream cheese, divided

Mix halved cherries, liqueur, and sugar; marinate 1 hour or longer.
Arrange lady fingers against sides of 4 martini glasses. Before
serving, spoon 1/2 cup cherries over lady fingers and swirl 1
tablespoon cream cheese over cherries in each glass. Garnish with
whole cherry and serve.
Substitutions: Orange liqueur may be substituted for almond liqueur.
Angel food cake or pound cake, cut into 3-by-1-by-1/2-inch strips,
may be substituted for lady fingers.

Find this and other seasonal recipes at BusinessWomanPA.com/recipes.