{"id":8679,"date":"2009-09-02T09:38:12","date_gmt":"2009-09-02T16:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ecurry.com\/blog\/?p=8679"},"modified":"2012-04-09T20:07:48","modified_gmt":"2012-04-10T03:07:48","slug":"rainier-cherries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ecurry.com\/blog\/soups-and-salads\/salad\/rainier-cherries\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainier Cherries"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nNo recipes today, just some blushing Rainier Cherries. I know the season is over to get these priceless gems. I am just trying to push out all things summer from my draft \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Just a thing before I move on with the cherries. We started our Travel Diary <\/a><\/strong>. We love traveling & had been wanting to keep a log since a long time… & it is finally here.<\/p>\n

Rainier cherries are the prettiest, priciest, sweetest & the most luxurious of all cherries. Yellow to light orange in hue with the beautiful red blush on the outside, these are beauties like a ray of light during a summer sunset.The inside is creamy & is way sweeter than any other cherries; every bite full of\u00a0 mild delicate flavor.
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\n“Rainier is a cultivar<\/a> of cherry. It was created in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle. It is a cross between the Bing and Van cultivars….Rainiers are sweet cherries with creamy-yellow flesh. The cherries are very sensitive to temperature, wind, and rain..<\/em>“(wiki<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Most of the Rainier cherries in USA are grown in Washington, some other states which grow these are Oregon, Idaho, Utah, California & NY. Our first encounter with these were in the cherry orchard in upstate New York in the Finger Lakes region. Trees full of these bright, sweet sunshine cherries, which hung from every branch in bunches & gleaming in the summer sunshine, lured us into stuffing ourselves straight from the trees, & then filling up the bags we got! We were hopping from one tree to another in child-like excitement.<\/p>\n

The Rainier Cherries make their brief appearance early June & then quickly disappear by the end of July. At the end of July this year we were fortunate to grab the last\u00a0 few boxes from the Farmer’s Market at a ridiculously low price of 2 dollars a pound!!<\/p>\n

So what did we do with these? Washed them & ate them right away :-).. all of them.
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\nSelecting Rainier Cherries:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Select\u00a0 cherries which are plump, large, firm and have yellow and red color. Rainier cherries are known to have some skin\u00a0\u00a0 discoloration, like\u00a0 brown spotting, which is ok.. the discoloration indicates the high sugar content in the fruit. Avoid cherries that are soft,\u00a0 with wrinkled skin; avoid the\u00a0 leaky, mushy and sticky ones – these are the signs of decay.<\/p>\n

Storage:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

“It is very important to store cherries unwashed in a sealed container in the coldest part of the refrigerator.\u00a0 Cherries lose more quality in one hour at 68\u00b0 F than in 24 hours at 32\u00b0 F.They will keep several weeks if stored properly.<\/p>\n

Wash them only when you are ready to eat them.\u00a0Cherries absorb water and soften. Water also spreads decay.\u00a0 If any cherries show signs of decay, be sure to throw them away as they will affect the other cherries.<\/p>\n

Cherries are best when eaten within the first week after they are picked.\u00a0 If you don’t plan to use ripe cherries this soon,\u00a0 it is best to freeze them. To freeze cherries, wash and drain them dry, then spread them evenly over a cookie sheet or flat tray and freeze them. When frozen solid, transfer the cherries to a plastic bag. They’ll keep up to a year this way.” (Source<\/a>)
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\nYou would be very lucky if you found any Rainier Cherries at this time of the year, but don’t give it a miss next time, for they are worth every penny & every bite. Sending the Cherries to Weekend Herb Blogging #199<\/a> hosted by Chris of Mele Cotte<\/a>.
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\nRelated Posts:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Vegan Ice Cream: Coconut, Cherry Almond<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cherry Berry Mousse Tart<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Aquadaze<\/a> of Served with Love tagged me \ud83d\ude42 .. I have done a similar Tag a couple of weeks before.. Here<\/a> are the answers!! Thanks!!
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