Pass the Salt

Marlborough Cherries

Orchardists Jill and Ken Gordon.

I love cherries. They’re the colour of Christmas. Like festive baubles hanging from the tree just waiting to be eaten. You can see why the birds go mad for them.

These photos were taken by Ruth Gordon on her family’s cherry orchard in Marlborough. I worked there last week. Sort of. Unbelievably, I was paid to spend an hour under the netting tasting the various cultivars in a sort of reconaissance mission for a film crew. I did take it seriously. In fact, I did such a good job, I could hardly move for an hour or two afterwards.

Orchardists Jill and Ken Gordon of Cherries Direct grow seven varieties with names like Stella, Rosann, Santina and Sweetheart. The idea is to stagger the crop from mid December through January, but this year flowering was late and everything seemed to be coming on stream at once. I managed to taste most of them but it was hard to pick a favourite. Jill, a keen bottler, prefers Stella – a good all-rounder that holds its shape well when cooked. When I asked her to describe the perfect cherry, she said it should be juicy and sweet but firm with a texture that just ‘pops’ in your mouth. With that new tasting criteria, I just had to start all over again.