Blink, and you’ll miss sour cherry season in Maryland. If you time it right and watch out for them, though, you could get lucky and pick up a few pounds of sour cherries sometime this month at farmers markets. Their season lasts just a couple weeks during July, so it’s unlikely that you find the picture-perfect fruit in the grocery stores.
Both sour and sweet cherries—which you’re more likely to pick up at the supermarket throughout the summer—provide a bevy of antioxidants that can do wonders for your body. A recent review of studies published in the journal Nutrients determined that eating cherries had a positive effect on decreasing inflammation and blood pressure, improving sleep, helping with symptoms of arthritis, and reducing muscle soreness after a rigorous workout.
As the name suggests, sour cherries are tarter than their sweeter siblings, so you’re unlikely to chew on them by the handful. They do shine, however, in baked goods, as part of beverages like cherry-infused iced tea and lemonade, or chopped up into salsa that you can use on the side of fish and poultry dinners. If you did blink and missed the opportunity to pick up some sour cherries, not all is lost—tart cherry juice can provide some of the same nutritional perks as the fruit.
Cherry-Almond Yogurt Popsicles
Serves 6
1/2 cup sour cherries, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract, divided
1 cup vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey
Place the chopped cherries in a small bowl and use the back of a fork or spoon to slightly mash them, so the fruit releases its juice. Leave some nice chunks for texture. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Stir well to combine, and let the fruit sit to macerate for 30 minutes to an hour. In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, honey, and remaining almond extract. Stir well to combine. Spoon the mashed cherries into the bottom of six two-ounce Popsicle molds, equally dividing it between the molds. Divide the yogurt mix by spooning it on top of the cherry mash. Freeze the mold for four to five hours until the Popsicle has fully frozen. Run the molds under warm water to loosen.
