Cherry-sh the day *

I never know what to do with cherries. That's the simple truth.






I don't particularly like them in savory dishes, except if it's something like this salad, and I hate them in pies.






Fruit pies are not my thing. Perhaps because it's not a Greek thing and I'm just not used to them but, then again profiteroles are not a Greek thing either and I never complain when I get served up those.






I have always eaten cherries on their own. The ritual being invariably the same; grab one by the stalk, put it in my mouth, pull it gently with my teeth to detach it from the stem, break the small spherical fruit open with a decisive bite, take out the pit and savor its sweet, juicy flesh.






Yet, I've always felt like I've been missing out on something. I have never used them in, well, anything.






Not until last year that is, when I decided to make cherry ice cream. And, it was awful. I don't know if it was the recipe, the cherries or me, but I hated it and so did S.






I wasn't disheartened though and when cherry season finally arrived this year, I couldn't wait to try something different again. I found Greek dark cherries at the market which was a complete surprise and impatient as I always am, I ended up taking more than a kilo home.






I remembered I had bookmarked a cherry sorbet recipe a while back and thought that would be the perfect one to usher in the cherry season with. Let me tell you, it was the Best Cherry Sorbet Ever and when I turned it into a popsicle, it was even more exciting.






The sorbet is not very sweet, has a slight hint of vanilla, is brimming with fresh cherry flavor and is extremely light. I was lucky to have bought the freshest vanilla bean I have ever used and it gave such a beautiful, aromatic dimension to the sorbet that it was unbelievable.






No spoons, no bowls, no trying to find where I put my ice cream scoop only to realize that I had broken it about a month ago while scooping what was supposed to be a milk chocolate ice cream but turned out to be a cement-like concoction.
No, this is pure lickable cherry pleasure.






I must have made this sorbet four times during this brief cherry season, the last one being just a few days ago and we cannot get enough of it.
So, hurry up! Grab the last fresh cherries of the year and make these popsicles.
Satisfaction is guaranteed.






* While I was writing this post I was listening to this song. The title is inspired by it.






Dark Cherry Sorbet Popsicles

There are three easy steps in preparing this sorbet. The first step is to prepare a vanilla-scented syrup, the second to make a cherry purée and the third to mix the two together. Then you just need to pour the mixture into the shot glasses, put them in the freezer and after a few hours, you have a delicious cherry sorbet.

Don't forget that the taste of the sorbet depends largely if not solely on the quality and ripeness of the cherries. The tastier the cherry, the tastier the sorbet.

You can pass the cherry purée through a sieve to take out all the skins but I love the little flecks of dark cherry skin in the sorbet. They add texture to it and they are flavorful too. Plus all the antioxidants of the fruit are concentrated there.

I used vodka shot glasses for the popsicles but feel free to use any other kind of popsicle mold you have. Don't use oversized glasses or molds because the stick will not be able to hold the weight of the sorbet and the popsicle will probably break when you take it out of the mold.






Yield: about 25 popsicles (50-60 ml each)

Ingredients
1 kg fresh, sweet, dark cherries (I used Greek dark cherries)
400 g sugar
170 ml water
1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthwise
30 ml (2 Tbsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Special equipment: cherry pitter, food processor, 25 vodka shot glasses (50-60 ml capacity), wooden popsicle sticks


Preparation
Put the sugar, water and vanilla pod in a small, heavy-bottomed pan (which must be super clean because the sugar may latch on to foreign particles and crystallize) and set it over a low to medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and turn heat up to medium. Don't stir again at all, otherwise the sugar may crystallize. Put on the lid, leaving it ajar, and simmer (not boil) for about 5 minutes (or until a candy thermometer registers 107 degrees Celsius).
Remove pan from the heat and let the syrup cool completely.


Wash the cherries well under cold running water, place them on a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry.
Using a cherry pitter, remove the pits, place the cherries in a food processor and purée them until they are smooth. If you don't have a large food processor use a small one and purée the cherries in batches. Place the cherry purée in a large bowl.


Once the syrup has cooled completely, remove and discard the vanilla pod. Pour the syrup over the puréed cherries and add the lemon juice. Stir well with a rubber spatula to combine and pour into the vodka shot glasses or any other popsicle mold you're using. Put the glasses in the freezer and once the sorbet begins to set, add the wooden sticks and put glasses back in the freezer. Allow the sorbet to set. It will take about 2 hours.
Keep in mind that if you're using larger molds, the sorbet will take more time to set.

Alternatively, you can pour it into an ice cream machine and then in a suitable container and into your freezer, thus making simply a sorbet and not pospicles.

Taking out the popsicles from the shot glasses is a piece of cake as long as the sorbet has set properly inside the glass. Run the sides of the shot glass under running water and holding the wooden popsicle stick with your hand, turn and pull the popsicle out of the glass. You might feel some resistance at first but it will come out.

Enjoy!