Ripe, red cherries remove my will power and, at the first bite, stir old memories of climbing ladders into cherry trees laden with fruit that looked like jewelry, of finding that all cherries were not red, of delighting in the beauty of nature’s packaging, of hoping the next cherry that I ate would not have a sour note like the last one and the moment of delight when that wish came true but most of all, for me, of realising that however cleverly I cooked them, they always tasted best when eaten in their natural state. I have eaten them in warm puffed up, sweetly sugared clafoutis, poached and served in chilled glasses of rosé, in cobblers, pies and tarts but none taste more ravishing than when taken naked and unadorned.
Cherries are as delicious plucked directly from the sun warmed branch as they are when eaten chilled, from a bowl in the fridge. Cherries, after a long and arduous summer journey, will still be firm, juicy and in one piece on arrival at the picnic site, the combination of which qualities will not be shared by guest or sandwich. On reflection, “still juicy” is not a quality desired in either guest or sandwich, but is definitely one that is required of, and is unfailingly supplied by, the travelling cherry.
Eating a bowl of ripe cherries in the shade of a tree on a sunny day is a good moment: such a moment is hard to improve but a cold glass of something along the lines of a German Auslese will certainly not be detrimental. Black cherries are very good too, but more about that another time.
Gorgeous photographs. Cherries are so expensive here that a punnet is a real treat.
They look so bright, shiny and beautiful that they are almost glacé (and by that I mean glazed, not frozen) ;-)
Your words conjure up the summer picnic perfectly! Beautiful pictures as always too!
So beautiful. Love the scene of eating a bowl in the shade of a tree on a sunny day.
My favourite fruit and you’ve made me long for them now!
beautiful!
For years I didn’t appreciate cherries as I had been confronted with cherry flavoured medicine and the sugary processed fillings. But oh the fresh cherries are wonderful.
I have the same memories….thank the Lord that real cherries are different:)
😊
Drooling :-)
Excellent result:)
Now, there’s some real food porn. Cherries have never looked prettier.
They were a pretty classy bunch, I have to say:)
The best cherries I’ve ever eaten I picked in a French vineyard. What a day that was!
That is the ideal way to eat them…good memory:)
In my world if there are cherries, it must be Christmas… but I can’t hear jingle bells.
Love ‘em. One of my fondest food memories is sitting on Lake Washington sharing a huge bucket of fresh-picked cherries. Could have eaten the entire bucket by myself, but didn’t.
That sounds fantastic…love the idea of eating them on or by water.
Perfect – and such stunning photos!
Cheers, Tanya:)
I’m with you – quite love them chilled from the fridge. Happy cherry season!
So good from the fridge:)
Mouthwatering pictures! And I totally agree that you can’t beat a cherry that is freshly picked and unadulterated. I spent some time in the South of France and siphoned off a few ripe cherries from an orchard … utterly yum … drool.
I love the firm and juicy picnickers image! Wouldn’t we all like to be like that?!
Being a firm and juicy picnicker might be on a bucket list:)
Hahaha!
:)
I bought some at the market just yesterday and enjoyed a handful for my dessert.
Good choice, Fransi:)
That color is amazing!
Isn’t it just;)
When I’ve picked cherries in our orchard, it was me against the birds on who could get the most of the red ripe ones first. Of course they leave all the unripe ones for me. :D
I’ve seen trees completely stripped. The birds cheekily leave the stones, stripped of fruit, still hanging on the stem:)
This is such a wonderful “ode” to the cherry my blogging friend. Your description is enchanting and a very good read. I like the part about sitting under a tree with a little glass of something to drink and eating cherries as they are in nature best of all.
It’s hard to beat…sitting in the sun eating delicious summer fruits:)
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I’m very glad you’re enjoying a bite of the cherry and thanks for visiting:)
Beautiful and mouth-watering. Just re-blogged it on Lost in Provence. Thanks for the inspiration!
Great compliment that’s very much appreciated…thanks:)
Nice shots with F stop. What camera did you use for these pics?
DH
A Nikon D800 with a 1.8 50mm Nikkor lens…and thanks for dropping by:)