cherries & mulberries
the seasonal pick, with a little less joy ...
Inevitably the casualties of any conflict are far-reaching, but the destruction to the landscape, agriculture and fragile crops is hard hitting, and sadly becoming unavoidable. It is in this season of luscious soft fruits and berries, ripe and plump for the picking, that without the hands to harvest, the trees groan with the sheer weight of fruit.
Typically, full of holidaymakers from both within the country and abroad, cherry picking is an annual event for all the family, who prepare to drive for miles to the rural north, for the the cooler temperature and the sweet summer yields. Situated high upon the bountiful expanse of basaltic terrain of the Golan, dunams of cherry trees blossom, flourish and yield each year from the temperate climate and the pollen of the honey bees, producing over 3000 tons of fruit annually. Regrettably, this is a year like no other for the innocent crops, caught in the crossfire of a brewing war in the region and struggling to unburden themselves of their ripe, juicy load.
A couple of days ago, a girlfriend and I drove up to the settlement of Odem, the largest cherry farm in the north, following a WhatsApp plea to come and pick kilos of the perfectly ripe fruits, before they fall and surrender to their plight. Hats, trainers and plenty of water in tow, we set off early to avoid the blistering midday heat, climbing the long windy road up towards to the moshav, whilst remarking on the lack of cars on the road and the scorched landscape, which only a couple of months earlier was a colourful carpet of wild flowers. We arrived to an empty car park, and not much sign of the usual buzz of this joyful pastime. We wandered over to be greeted by two lovely women, delighted to see us and furnish us with plastic cartons, before advising us of the available fruits and in which areas. Instructed to start with the mulberries, we wandered over to the drooping trees and carpets of fallen berries, before moving further a field to the cherries.
Cultivated in the Mediterranean Basin, the Afghan mulberry, known in Hebrew as ‘toot etz’ or ‘tree strawberries’, are elongated, thin, deep red fruits which when ripe, are sweet and flavoursome and symbolic of spiritual beauty and abundance. With a very short season, most of the ripe mulberries had already fallen to the ground and onto the tarpaulin that was strategically placed to catch them. With the instruction of a good wash before eating, we gathered the ripe mulberries from the ground into our containers, scouring the trees for any remaining ripe berries. With very little success, we moved onto the bushes in search for any of the small red berries, that pass here as raspberries.
Fearful of being destroyed without the seasonal helpers, both in terms of casual workers and holidaymakers, the harvesting of the cherries has mainly fallen to the farmers this year, picking as many cherries as they could in the first weeks of the season to maintain some financial viability. As the lower fields were completely depleted of cherries, it was the upper fields that required the hands, so in trepidation, we returned to the car and drove up the dirt, rocky, track, really only suitable for tractors, to help with the challenging task of salvaging the soft, ripe fruits. Cherries galore of a deep ruby hue, a shade of fire engine red, and a pretty pink colour with tinges of yellow, we were faced with the varieties of sweet and sour cherries on offer, and in need of picking. As the heat rose to a mere 31 degrees, we felt that our efforts had been worthwhile, and with punnets of the delicious fruits in tow, we headed back home, weary and proud to have supported our challenged agricultural community.
Desserts throughout the Middle East are nothing short of a sweet treat, a chocolate bite or a nutty pastry doused in a sweet, floral syrup, however it is during these hot summer months, when juicy cherries, tangy berries, soft stones fruits and the ubiquitous watermelon richly grace our table and deliver a satisfying and healthy natural sugar hit. Often accompanied by the coolness of an ice cream or sorbet or maybe a piece of cake made from the glut of fruits, we are reminded of this season’s abundant agricultural treasures.
I seem to have no problem devouring the sweet, juicy cherries in handfuls at a time, but as for the berries, I freeze the berries together in a container, in order to preserve and recreate a wonderful dessert that I ate in Cinder, a north London restaurant on one of my recent trips. Originally made famous by The Ivy many years ago, the dessert of frozen berries with white chocolate sauce was a delightfully simple creation, refreshing and warming in equal measures, that sparked the innovation of pouring hot sauces onto frozen fruits.
This rich, indulgent, sweet vanilla cream on the cold, juicy berries is a perfect end to any meal on a hot summers evening. It requires heating gently 300mls of double cream with a teaspoon of vanilla paste or 2 teaspoons of a good quality vanilla essence until hot but not boiling, and pouring over the frozen berries which will start to soften and ooze their sweet juices into the cream, fragrantly garnished with mint. With a little time and effort to remove the stones, this is also rather good with frozen cherries. Enjoy…
