Spring may officially begin in March but for us, spring truly starts when cherries start showing up in farmers markets and stores. Their arrival marks the beginning of stone fruit season. The window for cherries, which just started showing up, is short and sweet, so go now if you want to get them. What do you do with all those gorgeous cherries if you're not going to eat them raw? We have ideas.
In the meantime, listen to this fascinating story about the history of the Black Republican cherry. It begins with Henderson Luelling, the eldest son of a Quaker family who ran a nursery in Iowa in the late 1830s. It stocked 35 varieties of small produce including apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries. Today, the family home in Salem is a federally recognized landmark — not because of the fruit trees, but because it was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Olga Massov uses an all-butter crust for this seasonal cherry slab pie. Credit: Photo by Johnny Miller.
Sour Cherry Slab Pie
This recipe comes from Hot Sheet: Sweet and Savory Sheet Pan Recipes for Every Day and Celebrations, by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine. It features sour cherries, which are smaller, juicier, and have a jewel-like translucence when compared to other cherries. They’re only available for a brief window each summer. While we're used to round pies, slab pies feed more people so this pie is perfect for a big event. While some people pair almond extract with cherries, this recipe can also work with a hint of brandy. Get the recipe
This chocolate pudding with coffee-soaked black cherries calls for Bing or Nelson cherries to be soaked in a coffee and sugar mixture then tossed with ground coffee, brown sugar, and ginger. Photo by EE Berger.
Chocolate Pudding with Coffee-Soaked Black Cherries
This recipe comes from Abra Berens' book, Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit. Similar to brined cherries, these cherries benefit from a long soak in a coffee syrup to help marry the flavors of coffee, chocolate, and red fruit. If you don't have the time or inclination to soak the cherries, simply tossing in the coffee rub adds just that extra something to an already luxurious dessert. Get the recipe
Cherry pie is a classic spring bake. Photo by Elena Sambros/Unsplash.
Evan Kleiman's Sour Cherry Pie
"A proper cherry pie is made with sour, not sweet, cherries," Evan Kleiman explains. "You can make pie with sweet cherries, but I always think they're better in tandem with another fruit, like peaches." Making a cherry pie is pretty straightforward but presents several options. Will you cook the cherries with thickener and sugar in the pie, or will you make a precooked filling? There are positives and negatives to each decision. Evan takes you through your choices. Get the recipe
Balsamic Roasted Cherries
This recipe comes from Dan Mattern of Friends & Family (and previously Cook's County). They like to roast cherries in a wood-burning oven until they burst out of their skin and release their juices. Cooked this way, the cherries make a terrific accompaniment for pork or duck, but they can also be served on their own as an appetizer with a spoonful of mascarpone. For this dish, Mattern suggests juicy varieties such as Burlatt or Bing although a firmer cherry, such as the Brooks, holds up well in the oven. Get the recipe
Clafoutis, a custardy French dessert, is usually made with cherries but can also be made with other fruits. Photo via Shutterstock.
Cherry Clafoutis
Clémence de Lutz of the Gourmandise School says the best way to eat cherries is immediately, outdoors, and when the fruit is in season. If you want to bake them, she recommends this cherry clafoutis recipe that she has been making with her grandmother since she was a girl. BTW she recently opened a new bakery, Petit Grain Boulangerie, in Santa Monica along with partner Tony Hernadez. Get the recipe
Pistachio Cherry Danish
In her cookbook, Stir, Sizzle, Bake: Recipes for Your Cast-Iron Skillet: A Cookbook, Charlotte Druckman presents a recipe for a giant pistachio cherry Danish that cooks in a 10-inch skillet. Think warm, sticky bread loaded with swirls of sweet pistachio paste, crunchy nuts, and tart cherries. Looking to impress guests at brunch? This is your dish. Get the recipe
This cold cherry soup puts a California twist on a Hungarian recipe. Photo via Shutterstock.
Cold Spiced Cherry Soup
Russ Parsons, author of How to Read a French Fry and former Food Editor at the Los Angeles Times, shared this recipe with us in 2006, and it still holds up. "It's the balsamic that makes the difference in this California-ized variation on cold spiced Hungarian soup," he explains. He suggests serving it as a first course on a hot afternoon. Get the recipe
Savory Cherry Almond Salad
This recipe from Amelia Saltsman was inspired by one she found in a Los Angeles Times cookbook from 1911. Although cherries aren't often used in savory dishes, here they add a sweet-tart snap to a salad. Saltsman recommends using several kinds of cherries to achieve contrasting flavors, colors, and textures. A slightly bitter frisée or escarole along with a wedge of cheese will set off summer's first stone fruit. Get the recipe
Rainier cherries, which are only available for a short window each spring, are mild and yellow. Photo by ZhengZhou/Wikimedia Commons.
Rainier Cherry Pie
Erika Penzer Kerekes of In Erika's Kitchen loves using sweet, mild, yellow Rainier cherries in pies and tarts because "less sugar means you taste more cherry and less syrup. And then there's the other great thing about Rainiers: They don't stain." She uses an easy press-in dough. It's flaky but has enough structure to stand up to the heavy layer of cherries. Adding olive oil to the crust helps the texture. Get the recipe
Cherries and Baby Tomatoes with Lemon Basil and Mint
Pascale Beale's book, Les Fruits: Savory and Sweet Recipes from the Market Table, is filled with ideas for putting fruit at the center of the plate. Although we often associate fruit with sweet foods and desserts, cooking savory meals with fruit has a long history in Asian, Middle Eastern, African and European cuisines. This summer salad recipe pairs cherries with baby tomatoes. Get the recipe
Evan Kleiman's Duck Peach Cherry Galette with Savory White Cornmeal Crust
Inspired by the cornmeal crust in Adrienne Kane's United States of Pie as well as stone fruit season, Evan combines peaches, cherries, and duck meat into a one-of-a-kind creation. It's seasoned with sweet, warming chai spices and a bit of black pepper for bite. To give it more structure, she suggests baking the galette in a pie pan. Get the recipe