This Pickles for You

"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." Julia Child

I must say, I agree with Julia on this one. Cooking should be about the imaginative and making great food more fantastic and whimsical. Could you imagine if chefs and cooks were afraid of failing, where would food be right now? We'd still be eating meat without salt, that's where.

So for my first blog post ever I figured I'd go with something out there in the land of why not, pickled cherries. Though I wish I could say I came up with this recipe myself I didn't, I garnered it from Kari, a.k.a the Stockpot Ballerina, over at Anticiplate but added my own twists.

I figured I'd cut the white balsamic vinegar and replace the missing portion with a little red wine vinegar, to highlight the cherries already sour fruitiness with a little added crisp. I threw in some rose water as well, to be honest I'm not sure why. I kind of knew the rose water would pair with the lemon zest nicely but I was unsure if it would go with the rest of it. I mean, what could possible go wrong with something that smells like your grandmother's house?

Oh, and salt. Salt makes things go from blah to blam. So don't forget it.


Pickled Cherries w/ Vanilla and Rosewater

(Use 3 half-pint mason jars to store them in)
3/4 lb. Bing cherries, keep the pits and stems to help keep their shape
1 vanilla bean, cut down the middle
1 lemon, zest and 1/2 the juice
1 3/4 teaspoons black peppercorns
3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoons rose water
1/2 teaspoons salt

Combine everything except the cherries into a medium sauce pan and turn to medium-high and wait to come to a boil. Let simmer for 3 minutes. While the pickling liquid is cooking, make sure mason jars and cherries are clean. Place cherries in bowl. After 3 minutes remove sauce pan from heat and add to cherries. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Place cherries in mason jars (be warned the cherries will be extra sticky) and pour liquid into jars. Cover and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours. I haven't really figured out what they would go out with because I never get past eating them.

I love the sweetness of the cherries with the lip puckering of the vinegar, I swear I can eat these everyday. Though if we can pickle cherries who's to stop us from pickling other fruits. Pickled raspberries? Pickled boysenberries? Heck maybe even a sweetened version of preserved lemons, the sky is the limit my friend.

Come to think of it, didn't I just get my blog cherry popped? And the hits just keep on coming.