Cherries for Independence Day

Looking for a red-colored dish to compliment your 4th of July table?  How about something red, sweet, and easy to make?!  How about "Stewed Cherries To Be Eaten the Same Day?"*

This 18th-century recipe is very easy to make in your own kitchen, and takes just around half an hour to complete. You need only three ingredients: cherries, sugar, and water!  Take about a pound of cherries with their stems and pits still on/in them and put them in a pot.  Add just enough water to cover them-- you don't need to drown them.  Next, add in 3/4 pound of sugar.  Yes, you read that right.  That is exactly what the recipe calls for.  Then let them come to a good boil for about 5-10 minutes, take off the stove, and repeat.  Once you've boiled them twice or three times (until soft, but not mushy), let them cool.  When they have cooled, put them in a pretty dish and serve up with some of the sweet liquid from the pot poured over them.

To eat, pick them up by their stems, bite them off into your mouth, push out the pit with your tongue and throw it away, and enjoy!  Remember, cherry pits contain cyanide, so don't swallow them!  It's very easy to push the pit out of the stewed cherry and throw it into a trash can.  This is an incredibly tasty and simple dish to add to the table, and was very much enjoyed by all who sampled it.

Plus, next to apples and eagles, what feels more American than cherries? ;)


*Why "Same Day?"  This is as opposed to stewing cherries for cherry preserves.  The process is very similar, except you would, of course, take off the stems and pit them.