-Life is like a bowl of pickled cherries: sour and sweet.-
I am a sour person. Not to mean that I'm unpleasant, but that I love sour foods. I'll go Granny Smith over Pink Lady any day, thank you.
It's odd... As a child, I hated sour foods. Sour candy, in particular. If you were a child of the 90's then you are no doubt familiar with one specific popular sour candy of the time: Warheads.
On the playground we would eat them in bulk as a sort of schoolyard dare, all of us fueled by the urban myth - which turned out to be true - of the kid who burned his tongue in the Warhead Challenge. (The challenge being to hold this sour candy under your tongue for 30 seconds.)
Also by "we," I mean, "everyone else." I was a wuss at sour foods as a kid, a sad fact that didn't help alleviate my persona as social pariah and teacher's son.
Today, I can power through theses candies like, well, candy.
It's also therefore no surprise that I often make pickles - sour foods at their best. Even more so when I pickle sour cherries.
Pickled sour cherries are a curious condiment. The vinegar actually tames the natural pucker of the cherries. After a month of curing they mellow, sweeten, and absorb the flavor of the pickling spices. The result is a sweet, sour, floral, and fruity pickle that it best served with bourbon.
Only one farmer in Sacramento grows them and they're only around fort a short time. This year I was quick on the draw and picked up enough to make a batch so that come fall when my bourbon habit picks back up I'll be ready.
For the recipe, go here.
That is a brilliant photo Garrett.
ReplyDeleteWhat a color!
I'm intrigued- never heard of pickling fruits (okay, cucumber doesn't count because I said so). Since I can't legally drink bourbon for the next four years, I wonder how else these could be eaten? As lovely as they sound, I can't think of anything that sounds appetizing in combination. Mmm pickled sour cherries and milk. ;)
ReplyDeletesince I have a new-found appreciation for bourbon, may I suggest (if you've not already tried it) drinking it with a Woodchuck Amber hard cider (cider as chaser, not mixed)? It makes the apple flavor jump off your tongue. I've tried other versions of cider with my Knob Creek, but Amber is the best so far...because you know I will be mixing and matching other kinds, heh.
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