When life gives you a box of cherries (Flathead Cherries) – story from Polly
I knew I would
like Toby from the moment I first saw him.
Stocky legs capped
with sturdy boots came through my door lugging two boxes of fresh Flathead
cherries.
Toby Phillips had
arrived to help us with our wheat harvest bringing with him the sweet harvest
of cherries.
He had spent the
previous day picking and culling forty pounds with his father in law, Hugh
Hockaday, at the family orchard on Angel Point near Lakeside, Montana.
Has anyone ever
been disappointed with a gift of cherries?
Flathead cherries
come from northwest Montana and are grown in abundance around Flathead Lake. Orchard growers in this area are famous for
their quality fresh cherries. This is
the peak of the season. Though the
harvest is a little late, it is a good year for Flathead cherries. Picking began around the first of August and
will continue for another week to ten days.
The Hockaday
cherries are Chinooks; pollinizers that look like a Bing and come on a little
early.
“The cherries are
of good size, a lot of them had very little element damage (bugs or rain),” said
Hockaday, who has been running the operation for over fifty years.
Other big sweet
cherries that do well in the area are Bing, Lambert, and Queen Anne. These cherries ripen after the Washington and
Oregon cherries are off the market.
With a little
help, cherry trees live a long time. It
takes three to four years before they produce.
They peak at 12 years and may produce another 12 years. But Mother Nature wasn’t too kind to the Flathead
orchards that were devastated by the 1989 freeze when the temperature plummeted
from 50 degrees to 40 below the next day.
The Hockadays lost about 500 trees.
Over the years,
they have recovered and are very “picky” about the care of their trees. They cultivate them repeatedly over the
summer to keep the weeds out and to allow all the moisture to go to the
trees. Any split, cracked, or bruised cherries go on
the ground, left for the deer.
Hockaday moved on the property with his dad in
1946 when his grand dad had a stroke. Grand
dad bought it in 1910. There were some
trees there then, and he planted a bunch for commercial sales. Even then, cherries were big business.
“Grand dad hired girls to pick in the morning
and pack in the afternoon. Then the
cherries were loaded on ‘steamers’ (boats) and took to rail at Somers,”
explained Hockaday.
Today, the Hockaday orchard is strictly a
U-pick at a dollar a pound. Many people return year after year for the tree
ripened fruit which, according to Hockaday, is a lot sweeter because they don’t
irrigate and pump them full of water.
We have been eating cherries one by one
off the stem. My hands are beautifully stained
from handling and pitting the plump red fruit.
I’m eager to not let one go to waste, so I have prepared many
recipes. Still, I have a windfall of
Montana’s sweetest picking.
“Just throw them
in bags and freeze them,” suggests Phillips, “that’s what we do.”
“Then, in the cool
of winter take out a bowl of cherries and relish the delicious memory of
summer.”
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Where to get Flathead cherries:
Flathead cherries
are available at supermarkets and various farmers markets. When you shop, look for shiny, firm, plump
fruit with no marring on the skin or broken stems. The darkest cherries are the most ripe. They do not ripen after picking. Wash before eating. Store them in the refrigerator and they will
keep for about a week. If you choose to
pick your own at a U-pick, pick them with the stems on. They stay fresher that way. The Hockaday
orchard provides ladders, and boxes.
How good are cherries for you:
Sweet cherries
are a good source of potassium (260 mg in every cup consumed). Evidence shows that a diet rich in potassium
may help to control blood pressure and reduce the risk for hypertension and
stroke. Cherries are packed with antioxidants
including anthocyanins and melatonin.
Research indicates cherries my help maintain healthy joint functioning
and support a healthy cardiovascular system.
You can enjoy the
nutritious benefits of cherries in several ways: one serving is equal to 1 cup
fresh cherries; ½ cup dried cherries; 1 cup frozen cherries; or 1 cup cherry
juice. Calories in one cup of
cherries: 84.
Sweet cherries
are simply delicious: put them on top of your cereal in the morning, add them
to fruit salads, or layer them with granola and yogurt for a fresh parfait.
Pitting cherries:
These red round
gems have to be pitted. There are good
cherry pitters on the market. I have a
hand held device that works like a spring loaded bobby pin. It is called a “cherry chomper.” Pizazz in downtown Great Falls carries three
different cherry pitters, including the cherry chomper.
Recipes:
Sweet Cherry Jam or Topping
4 cups pitted sweet cherries
2 ½ cups sugar
½ cup lemon juice
Put ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan and mash together
lightly. Cook, stirring while mixture
boils, for five minutes. Cook five more
minutes until thick and syrupy. Ladle
into hot jelly jars. Seal with paraffin
wax. Will fill two pints, or four small
jelly jars.
Sweet Cherry Pie
Prepare pastry for 2-crust pie: Measure 2 cups flour into large bowl, and
with your hands, make a well in the center.
Pour in ¾ cup vegetable oil, and ¼ cup water. Mix together.
Divide into two balls of dough.
Roll out one ball between waxed paper and fit into a pie plate. (9 inch).
Roll out second ball between waxed paper, and set aside.
Prepare pie filling:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tblsp. Fresh lemon juice
4 cups pitted sweet cherries
2 Tblsp butter
Combine sugar, flour, and salt. Add lemon juice to cherries and toss with
sugar-flour mixture to mix thoroughly.
Turn into pastry lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Add top crust and crimp edges
so juice does not escape. With a knife,
make three slashes on the top. Bake in
hot oven (425 F) about 40 minutes.
Cherries Jubilee
4 cups pitted cherries
½ cup water
1 Tblsp. sugar mixed with 1 Tblsp cornstarch
¼ cup Kirsch (cherry liqueur
Vanilla ice cream
In a small dish, combine water with sugar and
cornstarch. In a skillet, heat cherries
with cornstarch mixture over moderate heat, until thick and clear. Add Kirsch just before serving. Scoop vanilla ice cream into cocktail glasses
or dessert dishes and spoon cherries down over ice cream. Serves 6.
Sweet Cherry Blondies
1 -1/3 cups flour
1 -1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pitted, halved cherries
½ cup chopped pecans
In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder,
salt, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on low
speed of electric mixer until blended.
Spread ½ batter on buttered and floured 9 inch baking pan. Toss cherries with small amount of flour. Scatter cherries over batter. Spread remaining batter over cherries. Sprinkle pecans on top. Bake @ 325 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes until
wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool and cut into 16 squares.
Cherry Coca-Cola
Salad
2 cups pitted sweet cherries
1 can (l lb. 4 oz) crushed pineapple
1 pkg. cherry (6 oz) gelatin
1 -12 oz can Coca Cola
Drain juice from pineapple, add enough water to make 2
cups. Heat to boiling. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Pour into large bowl. Add cola.
Stir. Add cherries and put into 1
– ½ quart mold. Chill until set.
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