Groovy. Local. Food.

Cherry season is here and I’m using cherries in a variety of ways, although I have to admit that sorbets and ice creams are the easiest and most fun.

What’s great about working at the farmers market is that folks have so many different ways they use cherries, just eating them right out of the container and spitting the pits at their siblings — by our younger customers, of course.

I do pit the cherries and toss them into smoothies or into plain yogurt and they add great flavor. Keep it simple.

So far, I’ve made a cherry sorbet — so easy — and an ice cream, which isn’t difficult either. Ice cream can be as easy or difficult. There are recipes that easily mix up, need to be chilled for a short time and can be put into the ice cream maker. For others, you need eight arms but it’s always worth it.

Here are some recipes to choose from:

Cherry Sorbet

I buy a quart of cherries at the farmers market and pit them. It’s usually around 2 pounds.

I put them in a glass or other nonreactive saucepan, add water to cover, usually about 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. I tend to use slightly less sugar.

I heat up the mixture until the cherries get soft. Shouldn’t take long, maybe 10-15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Put cherries into a blender until smooth and add 1/8 tsp of almond extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly then put in the ice cream maker.

I have added bits of dark chocolate and I can attest it’s sorbet I didn’t share. Yum.

Batch Family Mountain Cherry Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups of cherries (bing, lapin or sweetheart are great)

1 pint of whipping cream

1 pint half and half

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar (I was told the recipe wasn’t sweet enough but we put it over brownies and cookies so it was fine. You can add more based on your taste).

1/2 tsp vanilla

Optional

1/2 cup chopped raw almonds

1/2 cup shaved dark chocolate (or to taste)

Whisk whipping cream, half and half, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add cherries and stir. Chill mixture for 30 minutes in the freezer. Pour into ice cream maker. Run until mixture reaches milkshake consistency. Add almonds and chocolate until they’re mixed well into the ice cream.

Basic Cherry Ice Cream (from 101cookbooks.com)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup honey (light flavored is best)

3/4 pounds cherries

3 TBS cherry liquor or cherry brandy or amaretto

Place cream, milk and honey in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve honey. Heat over low to moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Be careful not to boil.

Remove from heat and let cool five minutes. Add the chopped cherries and liquor. Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled.

Stir the mixture again to blend put into ice cream maker.