Cherries are without a doubt my favourite homegrown fruit: they taste amazing, look lovely in the trees, make fantastic puddings and are as much a part of the British summer as rain and Wimbledon. But over the last 50 years, we have lost 90% of our cherry orchards and now import around 95% of the cherries we eat.
In a bit to stop the UK from 'losing its cherry', tomorrow (Sat 18th July) has been designated British Cherry Day, with the aim of raising awareness about how you can help save the much-loved fruit. Of course, crafters and cooks have their own ideas on how to do this, so I've collected a few of them together here.
Read on over the jump for some great cherry patterns and recipes!
Crocheted cherry pie
If you're looking for calorie-free cherry desserts, look no further than Pseudoscorpion's wonderful free crochet cherry pie pattern, as featuerd on Craftster. You'll soon be wanting the real thing mind you...
Cherry Pie
To make a mean cherry pie...
You'll need:
* 50g caster sugar
* 1tbsp lemon juice
* 400g cherries, halved and pitted
* 2tsp cornflour
* 1tbsp Kirsch (optional)
* 680g frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed
* 1tbsp semolina (optional)
* 1tbsp milk
* 3tsp granulated sugar
Method
1 Simmer the sugar and 100ml water over a low heat until sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice and cherries. Turn up heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Dissolve the cornflour with 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid, then stir into the cherries. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until thickened. Stir in the Kirsch, if using. Leave to cool.
2 On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the pastry to line a 20cm or 21cm pie dish. Sprinkle semolina (if using) over the pastry base then pile in the cooled cherry mixture.
3 Roll out remaining pastry into a circle. Brush edge of pastry with water and arrange the circle of pastry on top. Trim edges with a knife and crimp with a fork. Make 2 small cuts in the top, then chill for 30 minutes.
4 Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Put the pie on a preheated baking sheet. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden. Serve with clotted cream.
And of course we coudn't talk cherries on a friday without featuring a cherry cocktail...
Cherry bomb cocktail
You'll need:
♥ 0.5 floz vodka
♥ 0.5 floz Midori
♥ 0.5 floz Disaronno
♥ 0.5 floz amaretto
♥ Fresh lemon sour mix and cranberry juice to top
Method:
1. Fill a tumbler with ice.
2. Add the vodka, Midori, Disaronno and amaretto, then top with cranberry juice and fresh lemon sour mix.
3. Swirl and serve.
