Clafoutis is a baked cherry dessert that originated in the Limousin region of France.
Start by placing whole cherries in a shallow buttered dish. Top the cherries with a thick pancake-like batter, then bake the dish and serve it warm with a dusting of powdered sugar. (Don't make extra; clafoutis becomes simultaneously soggy and rubbery when refrigerated.)
Clafoutis is traditionally made with unpitted cherries—purists believe the pits impart an extra almond-ish flavor—though modern cooks often pit the fruit before cooking. Nontraditional fruits such as apples, pears, clementines or berries also work.
The Montmorency cherry is the most popular sour cherry in America. They are named for the Montmorency forest in France, where they were first cultivated in the 18th century.
Plump, firm-fleshed Montmorency cherries are at their peak in July and work well in an all-American cherry pie.
Montmorency is also a culinary term that may or may not signal the presence of cherries in many dishes, from cherry-based ice creams and tarts to Duck Montmorency, made with Bordeaux-poached cherries. A classic garnish called Montmorency is an artichoke heart stuffed with balls of potato and glazed carrot.
what you should know
In 1850, Seth Lewelling lit out for Oregon to grow fruit. His first success fruit was the Black Republican cherry, which he named in honor of the abolitionists trying to end slavery. (Back in Iowa, the Lewellings had been involved in the Underground Railroad.)
Lewelling named his next cherry after Ah Bing, the foreman who oversaw his orchards. The large, dark red Bing cherry was sweet, plump and crisp.
the pick When it was released in the mid-1870s, it became a sensation: one pound (roughly 35 cherries) sold for a dollar in East Coast markets. The Bing quickly became and still is the most widely grown of the sweet cherries.
tis the Cherries should start arriving right about now from central California (and, with them, "unquestionable proof" that summer is coming). In a couple of weeks, you'll start seeing Bings from Oregon and Washington state, where almost half the sweet cherries in the U.S. are grown.
low risk, high reward The Bing--like all sweet cherries--are low risk/high reward fruits. Look for cherries that are firm and shiny. Avoid soft or bruised fruit. Store cherries in the fridge, where they'll keep for a few days. (You can also freeze cherries.)
pit stop To pit a cherry, treat it like an olive. (Or get out a nail or paper clip.)
what you need
If you go in for those super-specific kitchen tools like the cherry pitter, we recommend the one made by OXO. (It'll also work for most olives.)
As with pitting olives, we get along just fine with a dough scraper.
Chez Panisse Fruit is filled with simple and refined stone fruit desserts.
what you do
Convert someone to spinach with this Bing cherry and Brie salad.
Cook & Eat explores the compatibility between sweet and savory in fruit and honey focaccia and a fennel and cherry salad.
As you enter grilling season in earnest, keep this rustic cherry pie (also from Cook & Eat) in mind.
One of the classic uses for Bings is in a cherry clafoutis, which is part of this week's installment of the Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology.
(Top image courtesy of the California Cherry Advisory Board.)
