Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

Cherries are, without question, my favorite fruit, and now, in early summer, they are plentiful. However, as with my last recipe post about pickled asparagus, there just isn’t enough time to consume all the cherries before they go off, so I’ve been playing with various ways to preserve them.

Which led me to having bowls of leftover cherry-stones.

Which, in turn, led me to orgeat.

Orgeat (pronounced OR-zhat) is an almond-infused syrup used in flavored coffees, tiki cocktails, and Italian sodas. Not being a big drinker of any of these, I’d never heard of orgeat before, but I am now a big fan. A glass of ice, a shot of orgeat, and some lightly carbonated San Pellegrino water make the most refreshing post-gardening quaff I’ve ever had the pleasure to imbibe.

What does this have to do with cherries? Well, cherry-stones are an optional (to some, but essential to me) ingredient in making orgeat.

Traditionally, orgeat is made with bitter almonds, but they’re hard to find and way more expensive than makes sense to me. Sweet almonds are commonly used in homemade orgeat, but by including cherry stones, I  add back a touch of bitter to temper the syrup’s sweetness.

This recipe is also eminently modifiable. Try different types of nuts. Try different flower-waters. Try skins on/skins off. This recipe is a guide to whatever is in season, whatever is available, adaptable to your particular tastes. See the Notes section for ideas on variations and uses. (more…)

Read Full Post »