We have a sour-cherry tree in the garden. For the first few years of living here, we didn't do much with the cherry tree, the birds usually beat us to it. A few years ago, we tried the cherries but found they were acid cherries, and I didn't know what to do with them. Then the yield declined and we didn't bother.
The year before last I tried making cherry jam. It didn't end well. It was more like cherry rock. Last year, I tried again. Same thing. The tree was looking rather decrepit at this point, so we (by which I mean, of course, DH) did some drastic pruning.
This year we have had an abundance of cherries, beyond belief. I gave up sugar in my drinks a couple of years ago, and I find I can eat the sour cherries without wincing. Much. And we decided to Do Something With Them.
So. DH made some cherry wine. That was 5 pounds of cherries. The tree didn't look as if it had been harvested at all. So, I found a reciple for Cherry Melomel, which uses honey - I guess it's a kind of mead. That was 3 pounds of cherries.
The local yobs of the bird world, starlings, have been ravaging the tree and leaving cherry pits everywhere. The Girls have had cherries (but I stopped after they'd had two each, as I saw one of them swallowing a cherry whole).
And today we decided to make Cherry Cheese. That was another 3 pounds of cherries. It's taken forever. Hope it tastes ok!
And if only it was a sweet cherry, we wouldn't have all this trouble!
The year before last I tried making cherry jam. It didn't end well. It was more like cherry rock. Last year, I tried again. Same thing. The tree was looking rather decrepit at this point, so we (by which I mean, of course, DH) did some drastic pruning.
This year we have had an abundance of cherries, beyond belief. I gave up sugar in my drinks a couple of years ago, and I find I can eat the sour cherries without wincing. Much. And we decided to Do Something With Them.
So. DH made some cherry wine. That was 5 pounds of cherries. The tree didn't look as if it had been harvested at all. So, I found a reciple for Cherry Melomel, which uses honey - I guess it's a kind of mead. That was 3 pounds of cherries.
The local yobs of the bird world, starlings, have been ravaging the tree and leaving cherry pits everywhere. The Girls have had cherries (but I stopped after they'd had two each, as I saw one of them swallowing a cherry whole).
And today we decided to make Cherry Cheese. That was another 3 pounds of cherries. It's taken forever. Hope it tastes ok!
And if only it was a sweet cherry, we wouldn't have all this trouble!
