In these post-Covid days, I have been dealing with broken supply chains. A key part for an electrical hook-up was delayed at the manufacturer due to a shortage of truck drivers; my grocery store was out of popcorn because no one anticipated how many snacks people would need in a pandemic; and, now the refrigerator I want is on a container ship somewhere between China and Indianapolis! So, when I was presented with more than a gallon of pie cherries directly from the gift-giver’s cherry tree, I thought what supply chain can be better than that!
Using the “one for me and one for the bowl” method, I immediately started to pit the cherries in anticipation of making my favorite cherry pie. During the pitting process, I had a preview of just how red-hands-apron-spattered juicy these fresh cherries are.
People: Owners of cherry trees who are generous with their bounty.
Places: Home orchards and farms where produce can go directly to the consumer. It is reassuring to see the increasing interest in home and community gardens, farmers’ markets, and community supported agriculture (CSAs) where more people can experience, as I just did, the benefit of a shorter supply chain.
Pies: Hoosier Sour Cherry Pie. Sour cherries, aka pie cherries, are those bright red, round, and small cherries, whose size, color and flavor are distinct from the Bing, Queen Anne, and Rainer cherries that are typically sold in grocery stores in plastic boxes or cans. The recipe I made has an oatmeal-brown sugar crumble topping. I like this topping because it pairs well with the cherries. I also like oatmeal and like the leftover pie for breakfast in my oatmeal. I renamed the pie recipe Hoosier Sour Cherry Pie in honor of the cherries which came from a tree in Indiana! My friends who made the test run of the pie agree, fresh is best.
Because I had so many cherries….4 pies worth– and wanted to give a gift of the cherries transformed as a pie to the orchard master, I decided to freeze them. While it is possible to freeze the cherries on a baking sheet and then place them in plastic bags, a more practical approach seemed to be to make the fillings and freeze them so I could make the pies nearer to the time when they would be eaten. After lining the pie plate with 2 sheets of aluminum foil, I froze the filling until it was solid and then wrapped the foil around the pie-shaped filling and put it into a baggie to freeze. Voila, the filling is ready to put into a crust!
- Crust: Your favorite
- Filling
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
- 6 cups pitted sour cherries
- Oatmeal crumble
- 2 TBSP granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons butter at room temperature, cut in ½ inch cubes
- Make the crumble and chill
- Sift together the dry ingredients. Add butter and toss to coat. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips. Chill for 15 minutes before using as topping for the pie.
- Make the crust for a single crust pie
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Make the filling
- Stir the sugars, lemon juice, nutmeg and tapioca; add cherries and stir gently until cherries are coated.
- Pour into chilled crust
- Top with crumble
- Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 375 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes until filling is bubbling
Oh my Diane,
You have outdone yourself on this one. Just looks sooooooooooooo good.
Great seeing you last week. You always are just a delight.
Take care,
See you soon.
Best, Barb