George Washington & His Cherries

How about those cherries? And, I am not referring to a professional sports team. I think it is amazing that archeologists discovered 250-year-old perfectly preserved cherries among 35 glass jars at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate. Yes, in April in was announced that the cherries were discovered in six pits in the home’s dirt cellar during excavations related to renovations of the mansion’s foundation. Sealed glass jars with whole cherries were found along with a few other fruit presumed to be gooseberries and currants. It is hypothesized that the cherries were intended for cooking as the glass jars were small. Jars intended for alcoholic cocktails would have been larger. In addition to cooking with cherries, both Martha and George Washington were particularly fond of a cherry cordial named, the “Cherry Bounce.” A recipe for that cordial still survives in correspondance from Martha Washington. The recipe states that it takes several months to properly let the cherries steep in a sugar syrup with brandy. Oops, I’d like to make a cherry cocktail today. So, I have significantly ramped up Martha Washington’s process to an afternoon activity to make a cherry brandy cocktail.

Mount Vernon

Sipping cherry cordials was popular at dinner parties and social events in Colonial American in the 1700s and I am sure that George and Martha Washington served the drink many times, especially during holidays. Cherry alocholic beverages were consumed much earlier and date back to England. Both cherry trees and cherry cordials made their way to this country with early colonists from the British Isles. The first published reference to the “Cherry Bounce” is in an old English document from the seventeenth century. George Washington had cherry trees on his plantation but my understanding is that it is just a “fake” story — he really didn’t chop down his father’s cherry tree when he was a lad. Here is the front of Mount Vernon with the Potomac River in the background. (Photo is a family photo from 2010.) Mount Vernon lies on the Potomac River in Fairfax County about 15 miles south of Washington, D.C. George Washington’s ancesters acquired the property in 1674. Washington became the sole plantation owner in 1761 and lived there until his death in 1799.

Cherry Tree Blossoms

Cherry trees grow and blossom magnificantly in the Eastern part of our country. If you ever have a chance to go to Washington D.C. in late March at the height of the cherry blossoms, then you are in for a treat. These cherry trees are from some city, somewhere,; but I am sure that those at George Washington’s Mount Vernon home and our nation’s capital are similar at the peak blooming season.

These cherry trees are blooming in March and April. So, the cherries would grow and ripen over the summer; to be picked in late summer. Then the cherries would placed in the glass jars during the fall to be ready to be used in recipes over the winter. Plus, Martha Washington and her cooks would be getting the cherry-brandy cordial ready to steep for several months. The Mount Vernon foundation has taken many steps to document the contribution of the enslaved people who lived and worked on George and Martha Washington’s plantation. These slaves, who operated the kitchen, were most likely the people responsible for picking and preserving George Washington’s cherries for cooking and his cherry cordials.

The “Cherry Bounce”

The “Cherry Bounce” drink is a fruity, spicy brandied cordial made from a mixture of sour cherries, sugar, brandy and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The recipe for a “Cherry Bounce” is found in a document written by Martha Washington at an unknown date but with George Washington’s seal. It uses 20 pounds of raw cherries and makes a large quantity of the flavored brandy, so apparently the Washingtons drank great quantities of it. George Washington’s diary documents that he liked the drink so much that he packed a canteen of the cherry cordial along with Madeira and port on an expedition trip west across the Allegheny Mountains in 1784.

Here is Martha Washington’s recipe for Cherry Bounce. It is one of the few family recipes which has survived.

“Extract the juice of 20 pounds well ripen’d Morrella cherrys. Add to this 10 quarts of old French brandy and sweeten it with White sugar to your taste. To 5 gallons of this mixture add one ounce of spice such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs of each an Equal quantity slightly bruis’d and a pint and half of cherry kirnels that have been gently broken in a mortar. After the liquor has fermented let it stand close-topped for a month or six weeks then bottle it, remembering to put a lump of Loaf Sugar into each bottle.” – Martha Washington The recipe is from Martha Washington’s papers, date unknown. Original courtesy of Stewart P., Cameron B., and Brian H. McCaw. (Reference: https://www.historiclondontown.org/post/a-sin-and-a-secret-just-the-sin-tonight-cherry-bounce)

Mount Vernon Excavation

Cherry Bounce

Let’s make some “Cherry Bounce.” My first plan was to make two versions: a cherry syrup which I cooked up in an afternnon to add to cocktails and a second version — Martha Washington’s cherry cordial which steeped for several months. Since I am impatient, I started making the cherry syrup first. Martha Washington’s recipe instructs that the cherry juice infused-brandy, spices, partially ground pits and sugar need to sit for a month to six weeks to ferment and develop the flavors and make a cherry cordial.

Here are the ingredients: For the cherry syrup, I used cherries and sugar plus a cinnamon stick and a few cloves. I added the juice of one lemon and some water.

Martha Washington’s recipe states that for every pound of cherries you add an equal amount sugar. (This is from another source, not her recipe above.) I used two pounds of cherries, and therefore, added almost two pounds of sugar which was four cups of sugar. That’s alot of sugar! It made a thick syrup. To keep the cherries from sticking to the bottom of the pot, I added one cup of water. I added the juice of one lemon — just because. Martha adds a few spices in her recipe, I used a whole cinnamon stick and two whole cloves.

Stem and Pit the Cherries

To get ready to make the cherry syrup, I stemmed the cherries and removed the cherry pits. Martha added partially crushed pits to the steeping cherry-sugar-brandy mixture. However, I don’t recommend adding pits since they contain some unhealthy components, i.e., thay contain prussic acid, also known as cyanide, which is poisonous.. Plus, after the syrup was finished, I planned on adding the cherry solids to several other recipes. You don’t need cherry pits in a pie!

My method of removing cherry pits works every time. Removiing the pits requires some effort; allow plenty of time for this task and two pounds of cherries. To remove the pits, I use a fork to reach in and pull out the cherry pit by locating the pit with my fork and then rolling the pit and fork against my thumb to dig out the pit.

Make the cherry syrup

Next, make the syrup. Combine the pitted and stemmed cherries in a pot, along with the sugar, lemon juice and water. Add a cinnamon stick and two cloves. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Then lower the temperature on the stove and let the pot simmer away for an hour, uncovered, stirring from time to time.

Decant the syrup through a strainer off into a container. Press with the back of a wooden spoon against the strainer to extract as much of the solids as possible. Remove the cinnamon stick and two whole cloves. Then, when cool, transfer the syrup to containers, tighten lids and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Store the solids, too, to use in other recipes. The yield was three cups of cherry syrup.

Cherry Bounce Cocktail

I’m ready to make a “Cherry Bounce Cocktail.” I’m not a bartender, so here is my best effort at making a cocktail. Here are my ingredients. You need brandy (or some other sort of liquor), cherry syrup, lemon juice. I added a little tonic to give the cocktail some pizzaz. Not shown, but an essential ingredient is ice, of course. I used fresh mint from my garden for garnish.

My recipe makes two cocktails. Here are instructions that I’m adapting from the Kitchen Riffs Blog. Place the brandy, cherry syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker half filled with ice. Shake vigorously until the contents are well-chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into Old-Fashioned glasses. You can serve this either “on the rocks” — in that case, fill the Old-Fashioned glasses with large ice cubes — or “staight up.” You can also stir tonic water into each glass to add some “fizz.” (That is optional.) I liked this. Garnish with fresh mint. The Kitchen Riffs Blog states that you can substitute either rum or bourbon into this drink, too, if you prefer.

Afternoon Bar

Well, I have a little bar set up in my backyard to take these photos this afternoon. I’m serving up “Cherry Bounce Cocktails.” And I really didn’t get around to making Martha Washington’s cordial. A cordial and liqueur are often used interchangeably. The description is a sweetened sweet distilled spirit. I just couldn’t wait two months for the cherry-flavored brandy to develop.

These cocktails are simple, refreshing and pretty darn sweet with cherry flavor. And the cocktails have a little “zing” from the cinnamon, cloves and tonic. One of the best cocktails I’ve had in a long time, not to brag. Come and visit me. We’ll enjoy “Cherry Bounce Cocktails” in my backyard.

It is a blast to think that I’m drinking a cocktail which George Washington also enjoyed at holidays and as he headed out over the mountains on expedition trips. And that some of the cherries which may have been intended for a dish his was supposed to eat are sitting right there in the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLS) laboratories. What a treasure the archeologists discovered in the cellar at Mount Vernon this spring.

Using the left-over cherries

And, I’m not throwing away the cherry solids. There was a reason for why I did all the work to extract the pits and remove the cherry stems. Once the cherry syrup is decanted, these candied cherries can be used in all sorts of recipes. I’m thinking of some delicious desserts such as “Cherry Ice Cream” and “Brownies with Cherries & Walnuts.” How about that vintage “salad’ called “Frozen Fruit Dessert.” I bet this cherry syrup would be good on pancakes, too, or as an ice cream topping. Yum! I wonder what recipes Martha and George Washington, as well as the community of those living on the plantation, cooked with their preserved cherries.

My “Cherry Bounce Cocktails” are just in time for the Fourth of July. Enjoy the holiday! Keep safe, keep cool.

References:

https://www.historiclondontown.org/post/a-sin-and-a-secret-just-the-sin-tonight-cherry-bounce

https://www.southernliving.com/what-is-cherry-bounce-7559431#:~:text=Cherry%20bounce%20is%20a%20sweet,the%20region%20to%20this%20day.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-washington-bottles-of-cherries-found-buried-mount-vernon