End of the Season: Cherries!

Its time to say goodbye again... to cherries that is.

We got the last crop in at the store about two weeks ago, and honestly, they were definitely end of the season cherries... when they got to us, the were already brownish and slightly bruised. They tasted good enough, but man, they were ugly. So ugly in fact that they didn't sell - like at all. Even after lowering the price and offering samples to anyone walking in our direction.... Oh darn...

Tip: Don't judge a fruit by its cover! Seriously, the most delicious fruits come in all looks and sizes! And just to be sure, ask the store to give you a sample. No, really. Just about anywhere that sells fruits and vegetables will give you a sample - including grocery stores. I've done it. Just make sure to find an actual produce person to help you out.

So, 5 pounds of ugly, tasty cherries that no one wanted to buy - ended up in my house. The thing is, they were Rainier Cherries - not notoriously good cooking cherries. I love myself a cherry pie, but I wasn't such a fan of the last one I made with Rainiers... so I had to put my thinking cap on - my husband and I were NOT gonna be able to eat 5 pounds of cherries before they went bad.

Sauce? Naw... again they're Rainiers...  Cobbler? Naw... similar taste to pie.... Dried?! That just might work.

Its super simple:

Dried Cherries - Even Rainiers!
Ingredients

• Any amount of pitted cherries, cut in half

Directions

1. Bring out, clean and set your dehydrator on the lowest temperature.
2. Set cherries onto trays, cut side up (rounded, skin side on the tray). This will allow them to retain all their flavor and plumpness.
3. Dry for many hours - between 8-12 - depending on the heat. I let mine go overnight, and woke up to some well dried cherries, with only a few crispy ones. The dryer they are the longer they will store. Mine were DRY. Next time I'm gonna turn them off little sooner, letting them be a little squishy.
4. Collect the cherries, and put into a jar - without the lid. Wait till they cool to room temperature then tighten on the lid.
5. Substitutions: Use any kind of cherry for this, even sour or tart ones, which would be great re-hydrated in a chutney!

They didn't get any prettier during the drying process.... but they did get darn tasty! So tasty that I soon used them in Ina Garten's Granola Bar Recipe! I just cut the cherries up using scissors and used them in place of the apricots. Delicious!