Seasonal Pantry: It’s cherry season!

For the next several weeks, life can be a bowl of cherries, if you want it to be. The very first of the season, big, juicy Bings, showed up at our farmers markets about two weeks ago. Soon, there will be Queen Anne - also known as Rainier - cherries, too. Every now and then we see other varieties at farmers markets, fruit from lone trees planted here and there by someone passionate about their flavor. I’ve had what I think may be Sweetheart cherries from a tree in Sebastopol and a sour cherry from somewhere north of Healdsburg, but when it comes to the commercial cherry industry, California produces just two varieties, Bings and Queen Annes.

The season peaks in late May and early June, and by July, cherries have typically given way to other stone fruit. Cherries from Oregon and Washington ripen several weeks after California fruit but we don’t typically see them at our farmers markets. Enjoy them now, while they are in season nearby. Cherries taste best picked for ripeness, not for travel.

Cherries are full of micronutrients, including boron, which is essential to bone health, anti-inflammatory anthocyanins, quercetin and potassium, along with vitamins A, C and B complex. There are about 90 calories in a cup of pitted Bing cherries, 2 to 3 of which are from naturally occurring fat. Cherries contain no gluten, no cholesterol, no caffeine and no sodium. They are delicious neat, added to salads, chopped into a salsa or relish or scattered on top of toasted slathered with cream cheese.

If you have a lot of cherries, you can easily make a cherry shrub or cherry vinegar simply by pitting and chopping the cherries, putting them in a jar and covering them with good vinegar. After a few days, when the vinegar has a deep crimson glow and a rich flavor, strain the liquid into clean bottles. For a shrub, taste and adjust for sweetness with simple syrup; for vinegar, simply use it as is. Use the vinegar-soaked cherries in slaws, green salads and to make a sweet and sour relish.

Because cherries, especially a bowlful of them, are symbols of easy living, of simple pleasures, they make a wonderful gift, especially for a host or hostess or simply for someone you love, without any other reason.

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For years, I made a cherry and corn salsa during the brief period, typically in early June, when fresh corn season and fresh cherry season overlap. I rarely make it now, as a key ingredient - Spectrum Natural’s unrefined corn oil - is no longer available. Now I am more likely to make a simple cherry salsa, which I enjoy on whole-milk yogurt, whole-milk ricotta, chevre, rare duck breast and pork tenderloin.

Cherry Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

½ pound ripe cherries, pitted

1 small shallot, minced

1 serrano chile, minced

- Kosher salt

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon best-quality red-wine vinegar

- Black pepper in a mill

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, preferably a late-harvest oil

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

8-10 spearmint leaves, minced

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Cut the cherries into quarters and put them into a medium bowl. Add the shallot and serrano, season with salt and toss with a fork. Cover and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Add the lime juice, vinegar, several turns of black pepper and the olive oil. Stir, taste and correct for salt and acid. Add the cilantro, spearmint and thyme, toss again, cover and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Variation: When fresh corn is in season, add kernels from 2 quickly-cooked ears; increase lime juice and olive oil to taste.

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Although I typically serve poached cherries with the savory portion of a meal, it is also quite good spooned over ice cream or gelato.

Poached Cherries

Makes about 4 cups

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon white peppercorns

2 cardamom pods, broken open

1 pound cherries, pitted

2 cups light- to medium-bodied pinot noir

Cut a square of cheesecloth, set the spices in it and tie it closed.

Put the cherries and the spice packet into a medium saucepan, add the pinot noir and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to very low, cover the pan and simmer gently until the cherries are tender, about 12 minutes.

Uncover, use tongs to remove and discard the spice packet.

Serve warm with roasted chicken, grilled duck, roasted pork tenderloin or wild Pacific King salmon prepared by your favorite technique.

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Liqueur, usually kirsch or framboise, is typically added to the custard of clafoutis, but I find I prefer it with just vanilla, which adds a richness without making me think of cherry-flavored penicillin, as the addition of alcohol tends to do.

Clafoutis aux Cerises

Serves 4 to 6

4 cups fresh ripe cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved

- Butter, at room temperature

- All-purpose flour

1 extra-large farm egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup heavy cream, preferably organic

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons creme fraiche, preferably Bellwether or Cowgirl Creamery

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons local organic unsalted butter, melted

- Powdered sugar, for dusting

Prepare the cherries and set them aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Rub butter over the inside of a 9-inch tart pan that is at least 2 inches deep and has a removable bottom. (If you have a flan ring, you can use it for this dish.) Sprinkle with flour and then tap the pan several times to distribute it. Tip out excess flour and set aside.

Put the egg into a medium bowl, whisk until very smooth and then beat in the sugar. Fold in the cream and when the mixture is smooth add the cream, the 1/2 cup of creme fraiche, the vanilla and the melted butter.

Fold half the cherries into the custard mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly, making sure the cherries do not clump in any one area. Scatter the reserved 2 cups of cherries over the top.

Bake until the custard has puffed up and is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool until easy to handle. Working quickly and carefully, invert the clafoutis onto a wire rack or a plate covered with wax paper. Immediately turn right side up onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm, with the remaining creme fraiche alongside.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 18 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.” Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.