Saturday, November 7, 2009

What To Do With Cherry Juice?

I found some canned cherries from 2 years ago. Gram (my personal extension agent) said that as long as the lids weren't bulged, there was no leakage, and everything smelled fine, they would still be good. They can last for a few years. The official canning references say "1 year"...but seriously, what would make them magically go bad at 1 year? If they were properly sterilized during canning and were sealed well, then they should be fine.

I thought about it. Checked the jar. Tried to smell it but I've never been good at smelling food. When I was a kid I had no sense of smell (allergies and a pretty much continuous respiratory infection made me a mouth breather without a sense of smell...too stuffed up). So still if I smell milk or a container of something, I can't tell if it's good or bad. The cherries smelled like cherries though so I figured they were fine. If I die of botulism, Pam can have the contents of the trailer. If I must die of something, I hope it's pie.

This brings me to the cherry juice. I poured the cherries out into am collander over a bowl. I poured the juice back in the jar. In summer I add sugar (because I can in a light syrup) and put it in the hummingbird feeder.

But what does one do with it in winter? I'm not making fruit cocktail or jello. Maybe I could make lemonade and add it, but it's cold out, not lemonade weather. I'm making breakfast bars today or tomorrow and can probably use it then.

If anyone has a better idea, let me know.

3 comments:

Jeanne said...

Crystal makes an amazingly tastey tea using chokecherry juice, echinacea root, and rosehips. She swigs it by the cupfull every morning and swears it will cure what ever ailes ya. Let me know if you wanna try it and I'll bring along some root and hips at Tgiving.

Jill said...

yes! I'd like to try it.

Pamela said...

Cherry schnapps?