The Heart Healthy Cherry
One idyllic image of country living is of a freshly baked cherry pie cooling on a windowsill on a bright sunny summer day. A pie may sound like a decadent treat with no redeeming nutritional value but cherries are actually a very healthy fruit. The Amish housewife makes good use of these valuable fruits, picking them at the high of ripeness and preserving them for use throughout the year. Cherries can be dried, canned, frozen or made into jellies while still preserving the good taste and nutrition of this amazing fruit.
Cherries are considered a heart healthy fruit. A cherry rich diet helps reduce a number of factors which contribute to heart disease. They are rich in anthocyanins which may reduce inflammation in the blood vessels. The antioxidants in cherries prevent and repair the damage done to the body by free radicals (by products of body processes which use oxygen.) Tart cherries are the type of cherry that have the highest nutritional value and are typically used in pie making. They have a large amount of vitamin A (beta carotene) along with vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, iron, folate and melatonin-an antioxidant which helps regulate sleep patterns. They also help lower body fat and cholesterol. It’s amazing that such a small fruit can have such huge health impacts.
The Amish have developed many recipes which feature the cherry as an ingredient. Here’s a great recipe for cherry pie:
Pennsylvania Dutch Cherry Pie
1 nine inch prepared pie shell
2 cans cherry pie filling
¾ c. flour
½ c. brown sugar, packed
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 c. butter
¼ c unblanched almonds
Preheat oven to 425°. Place the pie crust into a nine inch pie tin. Crimp edges of pie crust making sure it adheres to the rim of the pie tin. Place pie filling into the pie crust. Using a small bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut butter into the flour, sugar and cinnamon mixture using a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle this mixture over the pie filling making sure it evenly covers. Place in oven and bake for twenty minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with oven. Allow to cool. Serve plain or top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Cherries aren’t just for pies. This next recipe includes cherries in cookie form.
Amish Cherry Cookies
2 ¼ c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¾ c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecan
1/3 c. chopped maraschino cherries
1 c. chopped dates
2 ½ c. crushed corn flakes
Preheat oven to 375 °F. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl beat together the shortening and sugar. Blend in the eggs. Add to this mixture the milk, almond extract and vanilla. Blend in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the pecans, cherries and dates and mix well. Use a tablespoon to form dough into balls. Roll the balls in crushed corn flakes. Place the balls onto a greased cookie shape and bake for 20 minutes or until browned.
For a final, but certainly not least, tasty cherry treat follow this recipe for Amish Sour Cherry Fritters:
1 c. flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, separated
3 tbsp. water
1 c. sour cherries, pitted
Heat a tub of shortening in a heavy pot to 360 °F. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Beat the egg yolks and water together and then add to dry ingredients. Mix this together until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites together until they are stiff. Fold the egg whites into the batter. Add cherries and fold into the batter. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot fat (not too many at one time) and cook until browned (from three to five minutes). Remove from oil with a slotted metal spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and allow to cool before serving.
