Stoned Cherries

I've fallen in love with cherries the last few weeks. Prior to this year, I may have only eaten them fresh once or twice - typically, if the hankering came round, I'd find myself a nice can of mixed fruit, or - worse - a jar of maraschinos and go to town. (Maraschinos aren't a type of cherry, by the way. They are called so for the liqueur in which they are preserved. Royal Ann or Gold cherries are typically used for this dessert-topping delight).

The cherries I've been swallowing are simply called Sweet Cherries, per their bag, and I'm delighted to discover that they were harvested in the USA. I've learned that the US is the second-largest producer of cherries in the world, beneath Turkey, of all places. Up until this moment in my life, I thought that nearly all cherries derived from trees first cultivated in Japan. I expect that I thought this in part because I grew up not so far from Washington, D.C., and have heard more than once about the famous cherry blossom trees that line the Tidal Basin (a gift from the Emperor of Japan in 1912). However, cherries don't come from cherry blossom trees. Go figure.

I don't know why I didn't eat cherries in my youth. Perhaps because they are somewhat expensive. Most of the fruits of my childhood were grown locally, and my mother found ways to preserve them infinitely. The exception to the rule was peaches. We always, always had peaches. I think because my dad liked my mom's peach jam.

The pit of a cherry puzzles me. It's not really in the center of a cherry, at least not all of the time. And, it's not called a pit by most - but a stone (it is a stone fruit, like a peach - see the foreshadowing in the previous paragraph). Don't try to bite into it because you'll chip a tooth. Lord forbid you try to rid your mouth of the stone politely - one ends up appearing as a cowboy aiming for a spittoon. Still, it is a lovely fruit, and one I suggest you buy in spades if your market is having a sale.

Some stores sell cherry stoners, by the way. I think that sounds funny, and it makes me want Cherry Garcia ice cream all the more.