Cherry Carnage

The kitchen looked like I murdered a small animal but in reality all I'd been doing was pitting cherries that my husband picked from our neighbor Kate's tree. Normally we harvest cherries in July on the Palouse but it was a long winter so they were waiting for us when we arrived home from our European sabbatical last week. Walt doesn't actually love cherries that much - too bad since his birthday is in July - but he admitted they are "fun to pick," because you can grab them in bunches, which is very satisfying. They are huge, sweet, and almost black, and when I pit them on my homemade nail-on-a-board pitter, the best ones burst open with a geyser-like squirt of blood-red juice. My glasses, my face, the cupboards, the counter: everything is blessed with syrupy spatters.

First we ate some fresh for dessert. Then I froze several gallons of plain cherries for making cherry crisp this winter. Then, I made cherry jam, or, if it doesn't quite set up, cherry compote. Either way is fine, because the intended use is as a topping for breakfast oatmeal, or on yogurt or ice cream for dessert. The next bucket that Walt picks for me will be dedicated to cherry liqueur. Served on its own as a dessert drink or in white wine or sparkling white wine as a kir or kir royale aperitif, I predict it will be the essence of summer in a glass. Everyone we stayed with in France last year had a well-stocked cupboard of homemade liqueurs, and I intend to follow their example.

If you want to find cherries to pick in your area try the website www.pickyourown.org. Normally the Tukey Orchard at WSU in Pullman has U-pick cherries in July but I believe that most of them were used for research this year - ain't that the pits!

Here is the recipe I'll use for cherry liqueur. I don't know why the quantities are so funky - when I figure out more normal sounding measurements I'll replace this recipe with my own.

2½ c., (591 ml.) sweet cherries (Bing)
12.7 oz., (376 ml.) 100° proof Vodka (non-flavored)
5 oz., (148 ml.) simple syrup (two parts sugar dissolved in one part water)
2-6 drops lemon extract

• Into a quart jar, add cherries that have been cut in half and pitted. Add alcohol and water to cover cherries. Macerate—tightly covered 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature, shaking daily. Filter through cheesecloth and then through a coffee filter; add simple syrup and lemon extract (optional). Next add (top with) water to bring the total volume up to 25.4 ounces. The liqueur is very good at this point; it will become smoother if it is aged for a few weeks or more.

Note: You can also make this recipe using 80° vodka, 16 oz. (476 ml.).
24% Alc. by Vol. (48°). Makes 750 ml.