Five ways with... Cherries

Cherries are rapidly gaining a reputation as one of nature's "super foods". Scientific research has revealed they contain among the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, such as melatonin, compared to other fruits. They also contain high levels of beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fibre and folate.

They were introduced into the UK by the Normans after 1066, who also brought with them peaches, gooseberries, plums and quinces, but were not grown in abundance outside monastery gardens until the 16th century.

There are two principal types, sweet and sour, both of which have some culinary use. The sweet varieties are larger and often not sweet at all. The distinction is in the acid content, which makes only sour varieties any good for general cooking. This is especially true if you are making jams, jellies or pies.

Most fresh cherries are available from June to August. Choose brightly coloured, shiny, plump fruit. Sweet cherries should be quite firm, but not hard; sour varieties should be medium-firm. Store them, unwashed, in the fridge or for up to a year in the freezer

1 Cherry pie

150g unsalted butter (cold from the fridge); 300g plain flour; 100g caster sugar; 1 egg yolk; ¼ tsp salt; 1 tbsp corn flour; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 500g cherries, pitted; ½ tsp vanilla essence

For the pastry (or you can cheat and buy ready-made short crust): Cut the butter into cubes and whiz it, the flour and 75g of the sugar in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the yolk and two tablespoons of cold water and pulse until it comes together into a ball. Turn out, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. For the filling: in a bowl combine the remaining sugar, salt, corn flour and cinnamon in a bowl and add the pitted cherries (a cherry stoner is the best tool for this). Toss gently together, add the vanilla and toss gently again. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Grease a 23cm pie dish. Roll out half the pastry and line the bottom of the dish and trim the edges. Pile the filling into the centre and sprinkle on four tablespoons of water. Roll out the rest of the pastry, brush both edges with water and use to cover the fruit. Press the edges to seal, trim and make the edges attractive with a fork or your finger and thumb and make a hole in the centre. Brush the pie with milk and sprinkle on a little granulated sugar. Bake the pie in a preheated 200C/Gas 6 oven on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180C/Gas 4 and bake a further 15-20 minutes until golden.

2 Cherry berry smoothie

250ml cherry juice; 200g plain yoghurt; 150g raspberries; 100g red seedless grapes; handful of ice

Whiz all in a blender until smooth and serve immediately.

3 Cherry barbecue sauce

450ml cider vinegar; 180ml tomato ketchup; 2 onions chopped; 150g dried cherries; 60g soft brown sugar; 60ml water; 3 tbsp light molasses; 2 chillies, deseeded; 2 cloves garlic; 1 tsp ground coriander; pinch dried cloves

Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a pan, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Purée the mixture in a blender and return to the pan. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens and has reduced to about 750ml. Season with salt and tabasco if liked. When cool, brush over meat for the barbie.

4 Home-made maraschino cherries

Brine: 1 lt water; 1 tbsp pickling salt (iodine-free); 1 kg sweet cherries, pitted; 1kg sugar; 350ml water; juice of ½ lemon; 15g red food colouring; 15g almond extract

Bring the water and salt to a boil, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Let it cool for ten minutes, then pour over the pitted sweet cherries. Cover and let it sit 12 hours, or overnight. Drain cherries, discarding brine, and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice and food colouring. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, and remove from heat. Pour over cherries, cover and let stand for 24 hours. Drain the cherries and set aside, reserving juice. Bring juice to a boil again. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Pour over cherries.

Pack cherries with juice in hot sterilised jars and seal according to manufacturer's recommendations. Place in a water bath and simmer for 20 minutes

5 Cheat's cherry sorbet

Two 450g cans pitted dark cherries; 4 tbsp lemon juice

Open the cans and transfer the contents into a solid polythene container with a lid. Freeze overnight.

Submerge in hot water for one minute and then pour into a food processor and purée until smooth. Add the lemon juice and purée again. Recover and freeze again for up to eight hours before serving.