From the Market — Week 5
Gather ye cherries while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying…
Unlike the apple, which you can’t miss because it won’t leave, the cherry is ephemeral, making its arrival much more eagerly anticipated. I’ve been seeing them piled up on fruit carts around the city for the past month or so, but I can’t bear the thought of random street germs wafting over my fruit, so I managed (just barely) to hold off until I could be sure to get local, juicy, pesticide- and city stank-free versions at the market.
Though cherry season is fleeting, we’re blessed with an abundance during that time, which means I couldn’t decide between varieties, so they all came home with me — Queen Anne, sour cherries, and sweet. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the sour cherries other use them for cherry soup, so I googled and got a great idea from Chowhound: I’m now the proud owner of a jar of bourbon-soaked sour cherries, which will be just the thing with a Manhattan for old bourbon-soaked me.
The rest of these babies went into a jam. It was my first attempt at recreating my current (expensive, Whole Foods) favorite — cherry-strawberry-almond jam — and it came pretty close, I’m pleased to say, especially because I just winged it. Though the agar agar I used as a thickening agent went way beyond the call of duty and lent the jam more of a Jell-o texture than the loose jam I wanted, whenever I glanced at the packet I was happy enough to reminisce about my high school biology teacher discussing petri dishes lined with “aaaagah aaaagah” before she cut into a dead frog or fetal pig.
Anyway, after that lovely image, if you want the recipe for this jam, stick around. I’ll give it another go this weekend.
i’m sticking around!!!! that jam sounds deelish and i am so feeling the need to have some asap!
Comment by Mary Coleman — June 30, 2011 @ 9:41 pm
Please. Need recipe.
Comment by Cathi — June 30, 2011 @ 10:03 pm
That looks fantastic! Gotta love cherries, and Mrs. Caire
Comment by Twanna — June 30, 2011 @ 10:10 pm
Mary and Cathi — I’ll give it a shot. Even if the new proportions aren’t 100%, I’ll share and you can help me figure the rest of it out!
Twanna — Loved her so much. Mrs. Caire had a very Julia Child-like way about her, didn’t she?
Comment by Amy — July 1, 2011 @ 12:46 am
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Comment by Lira — March 28, 2012 @ 5:29 am