Spanish D.O.P Series - Picota Cherries (Picota del Jerte)
If you’re picking up cherries in Spain right now (mid June-end July), you’ve probably noticed some come with the stems attached as per usual, and others magically do not! The latter are D.O.P. Picotas from the Jerte Valley in Northern Extremadura. Because they ripen slowly on the tree for far longer than normal cherries and release naturally from the pedicel, they seal in their own sugars, giving them an absurdly dense crunch, high Brix levels, and a clean malic-tartaric acid balance. Eating them fresh by the handful is always a great choice, picotas are a dream for preservation as well as for other culinary uses such as pastry or other baking given their low water content and high sugar content. There are so many options and with 5.5kg of them these few weeks, I've had a delightful time experimenting with the different flavours and strengths of the different cultivars. Video re description of the DOP Picotas here - The Four Native Cultivars True D.O.P. Picotas are res...
