Just as friends needing travel sights in the Pacific Northwest contact us for advice, so does the occasional request for recipe help. We’re noticing those requests happen more frequently…
As a result, we’ll be creating an affordable subscriber alternative - with more info to follow. To help you better understand in-depth treatment of ingredients, check out the three recipes in this post. They’re designed to educate and inspire that cook within.
Meet: Cherries in Red Wine
In reading public domain cookbooks on Gutenberg.org for perspective on historical technique, I bumped into the use of the word relishful in text called "Dishes and Beverages of the Old South." As I thought more about the word and even its contemporary usage, relish often implies savoring something to the fullest. I love it as a descriptor because it feels like the end game I seek in product development.
A seeker of small revelations. The distillation of flavor. Textural enhancements. The magic of the marriage of two unique flavors that create a new flavor. These are my cooking's little through lines. Things that are luscious and intense. A small amount of something wondrous.
Italy means many things to me, not the least of which is the respect the culture has for every ingredient it claims to own or produce. I often feel I am the common denominator between the legally protected ingredients of Italy, and the intense flavors of fruits and vegetables grown in the micro climactic, acidic soil conditions of the Pacific Northwest.
I like living in both places when I cook and bake.
My appreciation of Italians' reverence for ingredients is always enhanced by Judy Witts Francini's Substack, Simply Divina - My Tiny Tuscan Kitchen. The timing of her Ciliege in Vino Rosso (Cherries in Red Wine) recipe dovetailed perfectly with the profusion of cherries - an Oregon treasure - now available in the markets. I jumped.
I have an undisclosed understory for the recipes I develop or recommend. If the revelations in paragraph two are the canopy of my cooking, the understory is that the recipes must be simple, of the highest quality, replicable and… here it is: relishful.
I'm unsure whether Judy's Cherries in Red Wine recipe is for her paid subscribers only (which I am), so I won't publish it per se. I will say that it was foundational to my adaptation of three other recipes using three different Pacific Northwest cherries. And that I have her to thank for the guidance and the inspiration. Check out the beauty and simplicity of Judy's recipe recommendation here.
The understory is designed to encourage cooks to discriminate quality by tasting, and to use what is market-fresh and available. Here we go.
Cherries in Red Wine
We used three varieties of cherries and small technique variations so you can develop your own preferences based upon the fruit in your local market. Notice the simplicity in each recipe.
We used 226 grams/8 ounces of cherries and 250 ml/8.8 ounces of red wine in each recipe. We used a Chianti Classico Riserva with bits of oak, leather, plums and cherries. Sneak in subtle flavor enhancements whenever possible. Knowing what you’re pouring is a great aid. Any good quality red wine, including red table wine, will do. Recipes often benefit from the addition of an acid at the end - citrus juices, ice wine, and red wine, sherry or balsamic vinegars - to brighten the taste.
Scale all ingredients first! Mise en place is life philosophy!
#1 Dark Sweet Chelan Cherries in Red Wine
Yield: 347 grams | 12.2 oz
These large, heart-shaped dark sweet cherries are mild in flavor with 16-18% sugar.
Ingredients
226 grams | 8 oz fresh dark sweet cherries, any variety, rinsed, pitted
250 ml | 8.8 oz dry red wine (Chianti, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Italian table)
100 grams | 3.5 oz sugar
15 ml | 1 T sherry vinegar, or red wine vinegar
20 grams | 2 T cornstarch
59 ml | 1/4 C cold water
5 or 6 grindings fresh black pepper
Procedure
Place the pitted cherries in a bowl with 2 T of the sugar. Stir to combine. Allow to sit for several hours or overnight, which is my preference.
In a small pan, stir the red wine and remaining sugar together. Bring to a boil. Add the cherries and cherry juice. Simmer for 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir the water and cornstarch together to form a slurry. Pour the slurry into the cherries and stir until it thickens.
Finish with 1 T sherry or red wine vinegar and the fresh black pepper. Store in the refrigerator.
#2 Balaton Cherries in Red Wine
Yield: 366 grams | 12.9 oz
These medium-sized, dark, tangy sweet cherries are native to Hungary. They're considered a tart cherry. A traditional bright red tart cherry would require an increase in sugar. If you see Balatons in your market, snap them up!
Balatons are quite tender and hold their shape well. Ours were frozen in July 2023 so you can feel confident using this cherry frozen. We drove 1-1/2 hours to the Hood River grower this year to grab another 10# flat!
Reducing the red wine by 1/3 will create a naturally more viscous syrup. The cherries can be simmered for just 10 minutes. We used slightly less sugar and a lighter slurry solution.
Ingredients
226 grams | 8 oz fresh or frozen Balaton cherries, rinsed, pitted
250 ml | 8.8 oz dry red wine (Chianti, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Italian table)
75 grams | 2.6 oz sugar
5 ml | 1 tsp best balsamic vinegar (labeled 'balsamic vinegar Modena')
1.3 grams | 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2.5 grams | 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
10 grams | 1 T cornstarch
29 ml | 2 T cold water
Procedure
In a small pan, stir the red wine and sugar together. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook for 15 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by 1/3.
Add cherries; simmer for 10 minutes. Add the ground cinnamon and vanilla bean paste.
In a small bowl, stir the water and cornstarch together to form a slurry. Pour the slurry into the cherries and stir until it thickens.
Store in the refrigerator.
#3 Dried Bing Cherries in Red Wine
Yield: 468 grams | 16.5 oz
Great quality dark, sweet Bing cherries are widely available. The Bing cherry is the U.S. standard for dark cherries. They're intensely sweet.
Lightly poach the cherries to plump them and subtly increase their flavor.
No need for a slurry in this recipe.
Ingredients
226 grams | 8 oz dried Bing cherries
250 ml | 8.8 oz dry red wine (Chianti, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Italian table, etc)
100 grams | 3.5 oz sugar
60 ml | 2.1 oz water
45 grams | 3 T orange liqueur (Grand Marnier, Gran Gala)
10 ml | 2 tsp good quality balsamic vinegar (labeled 'traditional balsamic vinegar')
2.5 ml | 1/2 tsp almond extract
Procedure
In a medium pan, stir the red wine, 25 grams or 2 T of the total sugar, water, orange liqueur and cherries together. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in almond extract.
Cool completely; store in the refrigerator.
…creating confident cooks with recipes that are simple, high quality, replicable and… relishful.
Let me know if you need pie cherries! My parents (north of Seattle) have a few treefuls of cherries that they'd love to give away to folks willing to pick them.
So much detail goes into your posts! Nice job.