It is a beautiful thing to enjoy a slice of sour (tart) cherry pie. I live in the Okanagan, where I am fortunate to be able to find sour cherries at the local farmer’s markets. Sour cherries are not as easily available as the more popular sweet dark cherries. I buy as many sour cherries as I can while they are in season and freeze them in 1 ½ lb. bags. These packages are used in breakfast Danish, Black Forest Cake and Sour (Tart) Cherry Pie throughout the year.
Sour (Tart) Cherry Pie
Professional bakers prefer sour (tart) cherries for pies, Danish, pastries, cakes or jams because sour cherries have a characteristic tartness and bright red colour. They maintain their cherry flavour during baking or jam making processes.
Sweet cherries are more commonly available and are eaten fresh or they can be used in the making of cherry clafouti (a French baked custard dessert), cherry vanilla ice cream, or used in an unbaked summer fruit tart. Sweet cherries do not hold up well to high heat cooking, and lose their colour and texture and quickly become mushy. It is important to understand the difference because the sugar requirements for each type of cherry are significantly different. Make sure the recipe you are using indicates whether you are to use sour (tart) or sweet cherries, otherwise the texture and sugar balance will not meet your expectations.
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