Food&drink

Enjoying a home-grown cherry bonanza The Romans could be to thank for the wild cherry trees that grow beside some of Britain’s roads, having spat out stones as they marched

Abumper cherry crop is a thing to make headlines. Yields and tonnage, predictions and picking patterns – the output of UK growers is a closely monitored subject for farmers, retailers and consumers alike, with 2015 hailed as the year of the great British cherry.

Last September, growers had produced 2,682 tonnes of cherries over fve months – 80 per cent up on the previous year. Incredible to think that in 2000 they bagged only 400 tonnes. Gone are the traditional orchards, whose yields were too low to be efcient; dwarf trees now bear the fruit, sheltered from birds and brutal weather by plastic tunnels (not for nothing does the wild cherry, or sweet cherry, bear the Latin name Prunus avium, meaning bird plum).

This year, better still: UK cherry growers are expected to produce as much as 5,500 tonnes – so bring on the pickling, pies and pavlova. Their very names promise satisfaction and delight: Sunburst (dark in colour with a rich favour); Sweetheart (an end-of-season treat); Regina (frm, deeply coloured, appropriately regal). The Romans could be to thank for the wild cherry trees that grow beside some of Britain’s rulerstraight roads, having spat out cherry stones as they marched across the land. Meanwhile, Constance Spry, in her 1956

Cookery Book, recommends fxing a hairpin into a cork and scooping out the stone with the rounded end. These days, a cherry stoner will do the job, or toss them in whole for Harry Eastwood’s simple but stunning fruit salad. Summer berry salad with toasted pistachios and mint serves 6

300g cherries, stalks on, rinsed 100g caster sugar 180g redcurrants large bunch mint, a few sprigs reserved if you like 300g ripe strawberries, hulled and rinsed 200g blackberries, rinsed 30g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

Place the cherries in a pan with the sugar, redcurrants and 4 tbsp water over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Put the lid on and poach for 15 minutes. Twist and crush the bunch of mint, add to the sauce and replace the lid. Infuse for 10 minutes.

Pick out the cherries and place in a dish with the other fruit. Strain the syrup. Cool in the fridge for 10 minutes. Pour over the fruit. Sprinkle on pistachios and mint sprigs, if using.