Cornelian cherry recipes?

[annew]

Anyone have any recipes for Cornus mas fruit? I have quite a lot! If they don't need to be pitted it would be handy as I'm shelling hazelnuts for 2 hours each evening at present, having a huge crop this year.

[Bart]

Wow nice Anne! Just out of interest, are they fruits of a named variety or is it just a chance C. mas? Last year I got interested in the fruit when a bush just outside my garden bore loads of fruit. 2 Months later to my astonishment the embankment where it grew was cleared and is now a bare grass verge... I planted the seeds of them and am the proud owner of 10 seedlings- so no fruit for me for a while to come.

I think the fruit is mainly made into a jam, or used like cranberries. But I don't know how. You can eat them raw as well if you like.
On the note of hazels, I have 2 bulk bags full of branches full of ripe nuts and I have been doing the same. Have you got a trick to separate the nuts from the branches? Also, a day after toasting some nuts they went all soft again. What does one do with buckets of nuts, other then giving them away???

[annew]

Hi Bart, it is a named variety which has much larger fruits than my ornamental C. mas. Unfortunately I can't remember which cultivar it is. I think I'll make jam. I wonder if a cherry stoner will work? Will have a go this evening.
Re hazelnuts, I wait for them to fall off usually and collect them from the ground, or whatever they've fallen onto (note to self - bad idea to have gravel underneath - it looks the same size and shape as the nuts). After some experimentation last week, I roast them in the oven and also dry the nuts for 12 hours in my dehydrator. It doesn't seem to matter which you do first. When they are freshly picked, the shells are quite brittle and the nuts are easy to shell, and have little of the bitter brown coat under the shell. After drying and roasting, I bag them and freeze them for use until next autumn. They are probably my favourite crop. Mine is a cultivar - the nuts are long and large, almost covered by the husk, but fall out readily when ripe.

[Palustris]

Easiest way to deal with the seeds/stone in the cherries is to cook the fruit and push the pulp through a sieve. Or put in muslin and allow to drain and use the juice to make a Cherry Jelly.

[Gail]

I had a cultivar from Bulgaria when I lived in Suffolk that produced large cherries, too astringent to eat fresh but made a beautiful jelly (12oz sugar to 1lb fruit; boil the fruit for 15 mins first with 2 cups of water, juice of a lime and 1/2 tsp ground cardamon seeds, strain through a muslin cloth then add sugar to the juice and boil to setting point).
Also works instead of damsons in gin;
8oz/200g fruit
8oz/200g brown sugar
seeds from 1 pod of cardamom
2 sprigs fresh mint
500ml gin/ white rum
Put all ingredients in a large screw top jar. Shake daily for a fortnight. Strain into a bottle and leave for a year (if willpower permits).

[annew]

Mmmm that sounds good 

[Bart]

Can you remember the supplier Anne? The sheer size of the fruit and the talk of these recipes rekindled my interest. I remember finding a (uk?) nursery online who listed a whole load of different cultivars, but googeling it now I can only find one named cultivar for sale from Bulgaria..   

[annew]

I think it was this company, but they have none listed at present:
https://www.agroforestry.co.uk/product-category/plants/top-fruit/cornelian-cherry/

[Bart]

That looks very familiar. I think it was. Thanks!

[annew]

The jam is delicious! The cherry stoner worked very well, but the kitchen and I resembled a crime scene by the end.

[Gerdk]

The jam is delicious! The cherry stoner worked very well, but the kitchen and I resembled a crime scene by the end.

Same view of the kitchen here but the jam with 'Kornelkirschen' is indeed delicious!

Gerd

[annew]

How did you remove the stones, Gerd?

[Gerdk]

Anne,
We boiled the fruits and then pressed the pulp through a sieve, using a wooden spoon - the stones were separated this way. Obviously not the best method but the result was delicious at least.
First we tried a food mill (purée sieve), but this doesn't work.
Gerd

[LizisMick]

Anyone have any recipes for Cornus mas fruit? I have quite a lot! If they don't need to be pitted it would be handy as I'm shelling hazelnuts for 2 hours each evening at present, having a huge crop this year.

Is it true that we can prepare tea from Cornelian Cherry?
I've never tried this type of tea and can't imagine what it tastes like. Google says that Cornelian Cherry tea is known for its beneficial components, which are large amounts of iron and vitamins A, C, and P. It helps to fight against anemia and supports a healthy metabolism.

[Diane Whitehead]

Oh, I am jealous.  My five Cornus mas (Elegant, Pioneer, Red Dawn, Red Star, Yellow) have never produced a single fruit.

My various named hazelnuts used to provide buckets of nuts that I would share with all the neighbours.  Then someone brought some Eastern gray squirrels to our island.  Since then I have had no nuts at all.