The bride and I went out in the rain yesterday afternoon and collected a bunch of wild cherries to make jam. We walked a few old fields and a field edge and ended with enough to make 6 pints.
The hardest part is the pitting which requires popping each and every individual cherry with your fingers to eject the pit. No commercial pitter works on wild cherries. We only do this every few years because of the work involved. If you have never had it, the flavor is unbelievable.
I start checking the trees in the last week of July and the cherries are at their peak of ripeness right now. They will soon be bird food or shrivel on the branch. Go get 'em !
The hardest part is the pitting which requires popping each and every individual cherry with your fingers to eject the pit. No commercial pitter works on wild cherries. We only do this every few years because of the work involved. If you have never had it, the flavor is unbelievable.
I start checking the trees in the last week of July and the cherries are at their peak of ripeness right now. They will soon be bird food or shrivel on the branch. Go get 'em !
