Cherries On Top Of Dessert: How To Make That Happen

Sweets are great.

A treat with a cherry on top is greater.

Dessert with a pitted cherry  is better still, eliminating the awkward pit disposal.

I never really knew how to  pit fresh cherries so I tried three methods:

1. Lightly smash the cherry with the side of a big knife. This opens the cherry enough to get the pit out, leaving the stem attached. Oooh, pretty, except for the cherry juice splatter.
2. Cut an “X” in the bottom of the cherry with a paring knife and work the pit out. This just turned the fruit into red mush as I tried to wriggle the little pit out. Nope, saw the futility of this after just two tries.
3. My favorite: I used the pointy end of a chopstick to create a guide hole in the cherry, then skewered it with the larger end of the chopstick. This usually worked to push the pit out. Again, the stem was left on the fruit. I was about equally successful skewering from the bottom as from the top, which is to say, not always.

Cherry juice stains so I had to take frequent breaks to wipe the counter. The splatter looked like a television crime scene.

Thankfully, I covered up my clothes, including my favorite white shorts, with a chef apron. (It’s funny that I even own one because I’m not a chef-like cook!)

I conveniently ran out of time after a couple of dozen cherries. And I still wanted to have some with my frozen yogurt or the leftover slice of apple cake. I won’t be cooking or baking with them because it’s summer and I really don’t need to generate more heat on top of the 90-plus degree days we’ve been having.

The frozen yogurt was good. A summer Sunday with cherries on top, now that’s really good.