Wait ’til next year

I’m about to give you two pieces of foodie advice you won’t be able to use until next year, but it will be worth the wait. A couple of weeks ago at the farmers’ market, I saw something I’ve never seen here in Sacramento: sour pie cherries. I like a Bing fine, but not for pies; you want something with a streak of acid running right through it, just like a good Riesling. These cherries came from Hooverville Orchards in Placerville, and they are a paler, more glowing red than most cherries, soft and almost translucent instead of firm with a dark shine. By now, they’re gone for the year, but I have a pie filling in my freezer, awaiting the perfect occasion later this summer. To make it, though, I had to run out and buy a cherry pitter, and I can recommend the one from OXO Good Grips, which is about $12 at Williams-Sonoma. If you’re mad to use it right now, you could pit olives. Otherwise, get it now and wait—and when you see a bright red gleam at the market next year, pounce.