Sweet Cherries – SOLD OUT
Last Day OPEN
10 am – 3 pm SUNDAY 19 Jan.
One last glorious day for Morello Sour Cherries
Some of our cherries took a long time to get ripe – this photo was taken Friday morning so with 2 more days of ripening they should be good juicy picking on Sunday. We think we have our last 100 kg on the trees. $14/kg, discounted to $12/kg if you pick 5kg or more. Come up for Fresh Air and Cherry Ice Cream made from our Morello cherries. Dress warmly – it will be cool and fresh.
ICE CREAM SPECIAL! – I need the room in my freezer for new cherries – we have a few boxes of the cherry ice cream. $4/tub or $39 for 12. Stock up for your next summer party.
CAUTION sweet cherry lovers! – Morello cherries are not the same as sweet cherries. They are smaller, acid, slightly bitter, but full of flavour. All the sweet cherries are finished, we have to wait until December for more.
Morellos are great for cooking, although some people love them fresh with a little salt, most people need to have them cooked into jam, or into middle eastern dishes, or Black Forest Cake, or made into liqueurs.
Entry Fees? – No Entry fees for picking the Sour Cherries
Weather
It should be a lovely cool picking on the Sunday – with a chance of rain in the late afternoon. Dress warmly – it is cooler in the hills.
Please park sideways across the hill, not pointing up the hill where you could roll back and hit another car, when leaving.
Are we affected by the fires?
No, as of Friday lunch time 3 January, we have been very lucky. We are on the city edge of the hills and have not been affected by the fires which are over 20 km away.
Food
You are very welcome to bring your own picnic food and find a table in the shade.
Romanian Sour Cherry Liqueur
1kg of fruit, (e.g. Sour Cherries Morellos)
400g of sugar
about 500ml of alcohol. (Vodka, Grappa, or other spirit )
You put the sugar with the fruit first (I use a large glass jar), leave them at room temperature (for them that’s around 20C max) for about 1 week to 10 days, shaking the jar regularly to mix the sugar in.
The fruit should release a significant amount of juice.
Make sure the jar is able to breathe ( I put a cheese cloth over the top rather than lid for those first 10 days or so).
You then add the alcohol and put the lid on the jar.
Leave the jar in a cool, dark place for 2-3 months.
You can use all sorts of fruit for the same process, but you will need less sugar for sweeter fruit. Enjoy.
Thank you Maria from Romania, who gave the recipe to her daughter who came to pick the sour cherries January 2018.
Cherry Tea – Iran
Put 10-12 sour cherries (frozen or fresh) in a mug.
Pour on boiling water and let stand for 15-20 minutes
Stir with a fork to break up the cherries and release the deep red colour and flavour.
Optional add sugar , or pour through a strainer (but the cherry stones and skin stay at the bottom, so its not necessary to strain – just drink carefully).
Thank you to a sour cherry picker who passed on the recipe. January 2018
Try this recipe for Albaloo Persian Sour Cherry Rice
Dish shared by a kind customer.
http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/albaloo-polow-persian-rice-with-sour-cherries/
Good Year for Morello (Sour) Cherries
We now have 100 Morello (sour cherry) trees producing fruit and also planted another 100 in the winter of 2018 and another 50 in 2019. Sour Cherries are usually ready between January 2 – January 16.
Sour cherries can be used to make:
- Sauces
- Cherry Jam
- Rice dishes
- Recipes from Persia, Turkey, Morocco,
- Cherry Vinegar
- Marble Hill Cherry Ice Cream
- Marasca – Cherry Liqueur from Croatia, Romania and around the Mediterranean
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Try this recipe for Albaloo Persian Sour Cherry Rice
Dish shared by a kind customer.
http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/albaloo-polow-persian-rice-with-sour-cherries/
