Northside U-Pic em Sweet Cherrie

FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1986

9729 Northside Drive, Leona Valley, CA 93551

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Cherry Recipe Book available for sale

Bought more cherries than you know what to do with:

FREEZE THEM - Wash cherries, with or without pits, pat dry. Place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen put in zip lock bags. When ready to eat, don't let them completely thaw out.

DEHYDRATE THEM - Use your dehydrator or spread cherries on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven at a low temperature setting 140 - 150 degrees, and when they are the size of a raisin, store in zip lock bags, toss in your freezer.

CHERRY LIMEADE (Great as a smoothie) 10 minutes

1 1/2 cups of pitted cherries

frozen limeade

3 cups of water

Use your smoothie machine......................it's delicious.

CHERRY CRISP

1 1/2 lb pitted sweet cherries

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup oats

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

Heat oven to 375°. Grease square pan, 8x8x2 inches. Spread cherries in pan. Mix the remaining ingredients thoroughly. Sprinkle mixture over cherries. Bake 30 minutes or until the top is brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

CHERRY CORDIALS

In candy making, there is nothing as dramatic as the cherry cordial. To the inexperienced candy maker, it seems a great mystery as to how the liquid gets inside the chocolate. Actually, it is quite an easy process, although a bit time-consuming. The liquid part of the cherry chocolate is actually a firm fondant when it is dipped in the chocolate. as the juice from the cherry reacts with the sugar in the fondant, the fondant liquefies and becomes the runny liquid that drips down your chin.

Cherry cordials must be dipped in chocolate immediately after being covered with fondant. Otherwise, the cordial process will begin on the trays and you will have a wet, gooey mess with which to contend. Have your chocolate ready - having a helper is very useful.

The cherries that I used to make cherry cordials were soaked in liquor from about mid June to November.

You can cover your cherries in a jar with rum or brandy about 2 or 3 weeks prior to making the candy. Put cherries in a glass jar, cover with rum or brandy, replace lid and store at room temperature, taste occasionally.

Thoroughly drain cherries on paper towels. Prepare Cream Fondant. Cover baking sheets or trays with waxed paper; set aside.

If you are right-handed, place a piece of fondant about the size of a large marble in the palm of your left hand. Flatten the fondant with the right hand. Place a well-drained cherry in the center of the fondant in your left hand. Beginning with your right hand, wrap the fondant around the cherry. When it is completely covered with fondant, roll smooth with both hands and place on a waxed paper-lined tray. If fondant is sticky, wash and dry hands thoroughly and dust them with cornstarch. Dip within 1 hour in tempered chocolate.

CREAM FONDANT

1 cup whipping cream	1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk	1/2 cup marshmallow cream
1/3 cup light corn syrup	flavoring, if desired
4 cups sugar

Set aside a 9" x 13" ungreased baking pan. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, combine cream, milk, corn syrup, sugar and salt. Place over medium-high heat and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. If any sugar crystals are present, wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush.

Clip on candy thermometer. Cook syrup to 238F or soft-ball stage. Remove from heat and, without stirring or scraping, pour into baking pan. Without excess movement, place in refrigerator or other cool area.

When bottom of pan no longer feels warm, begin stirring fondant with a wooden spoon. You don't have to stir rapidly, just keep the mass moving. If desired, after 15 minutes of stirring add 1/2 cup marshmallow cream.. If you intend to flavor the entire batch one flavor you can add the flavoring anytime after the marshmallow cream is added. Stir until fondant becomes very stiff and loses its gloss. At this point it has set up.

If it is too stiff to handle, break off small pieces and work them in your hands like modeling clay. This should cause it to soften. You could also wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and cover it with a warm damp tea towel for 15 minutes. This will also cause it to soften. If it doesn't, it may be overcooked.

If you have stirred the fondant for more than 1 hour and it hasn't set up, try letting it rest for a few minutes without stirring. This will sometimes cause the fondant to begin the desired crystallization process. If resting the fondant doesn't work, it may be undercooked.

fluhartys@roadrunner.com