First of all, that’s GORGEOUS.
Secondly: peach and cherry is a killer combo. I absolutely adore them together. Please let us know how you liked it!
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Someone over on the baking thread also posted a pic of a peach cherry pie. Interesting, because I’d never thought of that combo before. As always, yours looks lovely, and I’m sure, tasted heavenly. Happy summer!
ETA: need to correct myself. It’s on the lunch thread by @Nannybakes, and is a cherry, apricot pie.
It’s also on the baking thread, it’s an apricot /cherry combination.
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Finally finished pitting - ended up with about a pound of pits from 10 pounds of cherries. I decided to try making syrup from the pits per Serious Eats’ recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/cherry-pit-syrup-recipe
I also decided to try a couple of other preservation methods - I mixed 12 oz of pitted cherries with 4 oz sugar and sealed in a sous vide bag, and will see what happens as they sit. I am macerating another 12 oz with a half cup of sugar - once they release their juices I’ll reduce with some booze to make a syrup and then maybe water bath can them.
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It looks beautiful! The baking thread has gotten so big, I haven’t visited there lately. Plus I don’t want to spark cravings sometimes. How did you like the apricot and cherry combination?
I just made a peach/raspberry cobbler and I like the tartness provided by the raspberries. I think tart cherries and apricots might be better than with sweet cherries. I expected a little more tartness from apricots, but having said that, I’d make it again…and there’s none left!
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Any good ideas for what to do with the cherry pit syrup?
I made some last year. It came out great, but not being big ice cream or dessert eaters, was pressed to find use for it all. We made cherry soda a few times.
We’re not big dessert eaters either, but I am sure it will come in handy for cocktails. I’ll probably give some away as a gift as well.
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I bought quite a bit… now I have to pit them. One of the more tedious tasks I can think of. Turning on the TV to see how much I can get through tonight!
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I have a similar pitter and always count the pits because ever a device that fancy fails on occasion. Nobody wants to crack a tooth on a cherry pit. I find pits in the cherries that I dehydrate; it is easier to see them in that form.
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Strained my cherry pit syrup - yield from a pound of pits and 8 oz sugar is about 3/4 cup, maybe a little more. It is very sweet and almond-y, with a nice cherry backbone. I’ll probably use some of it to flavor the cherries I have macerating in the fridge, the rest TBD!
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Well, I sampled my sour cherry liquor about a month before I was supposed to. 
Good stuff!
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All that pitting and I got 2 little jars of sour cherry vanilla jam out of it! Good thing it tastes so good…
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If you like interesting combinations Try cherry salad with tomatoes and onions in balsamic
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Was able to get some more cherries before they disappeared for the season. Made a pie yesterday. Turned out really nice. So sad I have to wait another year.
Messed up a bit on the lattice but didn’t impact the taste.
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That looks delicious.
Bottling day! My sour cherry liqueur:
200 g. pitted Montmorency cherries (a few with pits left in for flavor)
150 g. sugar
2 T. cherry brandy
Vodka to fill a one-pint jar
While it didn’t appear to have much sediment to the eye, I still strained and filtered the liqueur before filling the little bottles. There might have been a fifth bottle, but I spilled a bit setting up the filter arrangement. Next time I’ll have a better idea of how best to do that. As it is, there was a little snort left over for the Bottler In Chief to have as aperitif tonight.
What I tasted appealed to me more than sweet cherry bourbon I have made in the past, which I find saccharine-sweet. The sour-cherry concoction, still sweet, tasted a bit fresher.
The spent cherries, while not particularly attractive and otherwise without much wow factor, were too good for me to toss. I froze them, and will chop them up at a future date for a baked good of some kind.
The cherries did not ferment during the 40 day soak, but some blueberries I have going did. I had to de-gas the blueberry jars for 5-6 days in a row before they settled down. Something to look out for.
If I can score some blackberries this year, I’ll try those, as well.
If the fruit liqueurs are well received at the holidays, I’ll make bigger batches next year.
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Wow! Beautiful project. Keep us posted for the tasting.
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My Italian grandma-style cherry experiment is complete! Here’s what they look like out of their marinade:
As you can see, they gave up a ton of juice. They aren’t quite as dry as dried cherries, but they’re pretty chewy. Flavor is quite similar to Fabbri, so I’ll call it a success! They may soften up a bit after canning - if not, I’ll shorten the cure time to 30-35 days next time.
Pitted:
On a whim, I also marinated a batch in sugar in the fridge, vacuum sealed, for the same 40 days. These did not dry out at all and taste just like the ones I marinated for just a couple of days:
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