Westcoast Cooking

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Thursday, 10 July 2008

The Northwest cherry season usually gets started in mid June and runs through the end of August. A typical cherry tree might see all of its fruit ripen in just a week or two so any single variety of cherries might be harvested in a matter of 12 or 14 days. To extend the season, growers plant several varieties to extend the growing season. With the exception of the distinctive Rainier cherry with its bright yellow flesh and its rose-colored blush, most of these cherries are so similar that consumers can’t tell them apart.

Bing cherries are the most familiar, but they are barely distinguishable from early-ripening Chelans or late-ripening Sweethearts. What all these cherries have in common is a dark mahogany red color and a sweet rich flavor that makes them one of the most popular table fruits of the summer.

One cup of cherries is just 90 calories and, like all fruits and vegetables, cherries can play an important role in maintaining our health. Anthocyanin pigments, the same ones found in red wine give dark cherries their color, and if it seems we are drawn to them almost instinctively, there may be an adaptive advantage in that. These natural pigments can help prevent cancer and they promote cardio-vascular health by preventing inflammation. There is some evidence that eating stone fruits like cherries can help prevent other degenerative diseases like type two diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. It’s no wonder that nature has given us an appetite for cherries.

And like all whole foods, cherries contain more than just these isolated compounds known to promote specific healthy responses; they are a complete package of vitamins, minerals, fiber and all around natural goodness that has a synergistic effect, greater than the sum of its parts. They taste good, they look good, they make us happy. What more could you ask for from a fruit?

Well there is one more thing. In our region, cherries also contribute to a healthy economy. Northwest cherries from Eastern Washington, Northeastern Oregon and Southern British Columbia provide vital income to farmers, farm workers and their families. In 2007, Washington state produced almost 150,000 tons of cherries, and these cherries were shipped all over the United States and to 42 other countries.

This Week's Recipes:

Bing Cherry, Caramelized Hazelnut and Goat Cheese Salad
With three distinct parts, this recipe may seem a little complicated, but it’s worth the bit of effort involved. Instead of caramelizing the hazelnuts, you might opt for buying candied walnuts available in supermarket aisles. You might also consider replacing the white goat cheese with crumbled blue cheese.

Grilled Wild Salmon with Warm Bing Cherry, Sweet Onion, and Tarragon Chutney
Dalis Chea of Herban Feast created this recipe for fresh cherry chutney that brings together some of our favorite flavors of summer. Chea studied at Western Culinary institute in Portland and worked at Canlis when Greg Atkinson was the executive chef there at the turn of the century. Herban Feast is a fantastic space for parties located in the Sodo neighborhood; it looks like a cross between a cathedral and a warehouse with just the right balance of sacred and grungy. Chea recommends serving the grilled salmon with a rose, but we’re more inclined to pour a Pinot Noir like the casual but sumptuous Red Truck Pinot from Sonoma.

Cherry Almond Tart
Years ago, when faced with a surfeit of cherries, we found this recipe -- in a most abbreviated form -- in an old edition of Larousse Gastronomique, the indispensable dictionary of French cooking. There it was called "Danish Cherry Tart or Flan."

Cherry Sorbet
We have to confess that we do not like dark cherries when they’re cooked. To paraphrase Marlena Dietrich, “It’s not that we wouldn’t; it’s not that we couldn’t, it’s not even that we shouldn’t; it’s just that we don’t.” This unfortunately precludes canning them or putting them up in the form of jam. Every technique we’ve tried yields pitiful results. So we try to make the most of cherry season by enjoying them fresh and when the season is over, we settle for dried cherries or cherries that have been pitted and frozen. Frozen cherries it turns out make wonderful sorbet.