The greatness of cherries

I have a cherry tree, a tree with sour cherries. It is the only tree that does well. Sour cherries taste different from sweet ones but they are good and healthy. I consider myself lucky that at least this tree didn't die and grows. Dying plants give me a bad feeling. After a walnut tree that died, now an old mulberry tree seems to be dying too. I had noticed a black spot on the trunk a year ago, but it has regained its leaves and fruit. Yesterday I saw some small shrivelled mulberries on the path and the tree appears to be largely leafless.

The cherry tree has grown quickly and I remember how frustrated I felt last year when I saw that every cherry had been eaten by the birds. Indeed, it is a bird's paradise here but that does not mean that they can eat everything. At the Lidl, I bought 2 bird nets. These appear to be much too small. I can't even cover 1/4 of the tree with them. Whether the net was necessary is the question. It seems that the birds leave the tree alone this year. Every day I pick cherries and I eat them. So far, I've picked about six kilos and for that, I stand on a high, telescopic ladder. The sour cherry tree can grow to a height of four to ten metres. How this tree breed started no one knows. The species is centuries old and resistant to cold. By this, I mean that it survives cold winters, but it seems that they also do well high in the Alps. If the cherries are very ripe and dark coloured they don't taste that sour at all. I'm glad my children eat it. It saves me from buying fruit and there's no need to take vitamin C tablets any longer. Sun and cherries make a world of difference.

In our country, I am only familiar with sweet cherries.
The Betuwe region is famous for it. You can go there to pick fruit and the cherry stands are back along the road again. Whether it is cheaper than at the market or in the supermarket is not certain, but it has something to buy directly from an orchard. You will rarely see high trees there. Bushes are easier to pick. Yet much of the fruit remains on the trees. I wonder if this will change in the future when the shops will have less and less food. Will people start eating fruit again and more orchard and farmers start selling from their homes?

Anyone who lives near cherry trees knows that every so often a loud bang sounds as if shots are being fired. The bangs are meant to scare away the birds as they are fond of cherries.

Sour cherries are widely used, especially in the food industry.
They are almost always used in syrups, jam, pie, quark, beer and alcoholic drinks. This means that I can make something out of any surplus cherries. A surplus I will have since the cherries will be ripe fast and once ripe the only way is to pick them and make something out of them.
I admit that we are not jam or syrup lovers, but today I intended to make syrup. Since syrup is also used as a flavouring that opens up new perspectives. I don't need litres of syrup, but the last thing I want is for the cherries to rot on the tree.

Cherries contain many vitamins and are anti-inflammatory (like most red fruit). They are healthier than apples and strawberries and therefore worth eating. The sour cherry is a painkiller and helps against muscle pain, rheumatism and insomnia. You can freeze them so that you can also enjoy them in the winter. I don't have a freezer so the only thing I can do is process the cherry.
You can put them in a glass jar, with or without the stone, and pour hot water over them. Close the jar and that's it.

I did this today because I am running out of time and want to make something out of the cherries I picked yesterday. Since I'm planning to make a cherry flan I need a cherry filling for it. I made this filling yesterday and have filled two jars as well for next time or another dessert.

If you like to try my cherry pie filling. Here's the recipe.

Fill a pan with:
350 grams of cherries (remove the stones) and
125 ml water
and put it on the fire.

Mix in a bowl:
50 grams of sugar (about 5 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

When the cherries are boiling, add the mix and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes. The intention is that it becomes thick. So the cherries will be in a thick jelly that you can put on the flan.

By the way: Instead of corn starch, you can use potato starch too which I used today for a jar of cherries that didn't close. I added yesterday's cherries to it.

I have at least 4 portions. In the fridge, it can be saved for at least a week. This cherry filling is also delicious with ice cream, pancakes, and waffles, through or on top of the cheesecake, great as a cake or pie filling. You can also make this recipe from other fruit. You might need to change the amount of water (juice) or add some more starch. Add some whipped cream and you have the best dessert ever.

Are cherries still healthy once cooked?
The answer is yes although they lose a part of their vitamins (about 40-60% depending on how you prepare it).

Instead of syrup I filled two jars with just cherries (180 in one jar) and added boiled water to it before I closed them. Later I can use them to prepare something else out of it.

I didn't come to make beer out of old bread.
I intend to but I need to find more jars first. There should be more in a box unless they are thrown away. I like trying to make bread beer with cherries and perhaps with some ginger.

Another jar I filled with cherries l, sugar and some vodka.
Can be I used too many cherries but I'll see what this jar will do in the next days, weeks and months. If it works out well I have my Cherry liqueur in 6 months.
Of course, vodka isn't needed to make this liqueur. Fruit and sugar do the trick too. The fermentation takes about 3 weeks and I would like to give that a try as well but without a big jar or bottle, it's not in it.

If you pull carefully the stone comes out. My 1.2 kilograms of cherries are without stones 900 grams.

I won't throw these away but dry them. If you soak a handful in 1 litre of water for 12 hours and next boil it for 10 minutes you have a natural medicine which is great for your kidneys bladder and more. Worth the try.

With the stones you can fill a pillow. If you warm the stones in the microwave you can use it instead of a warm water bottle or bag.

Time to pick more cherries.