falconer
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2015
- Location
- Kingman, AZ
So a little while ago I came across some recipes that involved cherry-flavored rubs. I much prefer to make my own rubs, and keep a good supply of ingredients around. I've found numerous flavored powders that work well, but could not find a reasonable cherry powder. So I decided to make my own.
Got some dried cherries at the local Safeway. Nothing fancy, big brand. Got home and opened them, and they were very soft and moist. Good for eating, but not for making into powder.
So I laid them out on foil on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 175º for about 4 hours. They were still soft, but I took them out and let them cool and they dried significantly. I then put a small handful (maybe 1/4 cup?) into a coffee grinder and pulsed them. Not bad, but still had lots of chunks of cherry that wouldn't powder, and the longer I ground them, the more the powder itself clumped up.
So I settled for short pulses and ground up the rest, a small handful at a time. Dumped it all into a wire strainer and sifted the powder out. Got about half of it, and put it away. I took the rest, put it back on a foil-covered cookie sheet, and baked it again for another 4 hours. Let it cool. Ah. that's better. I was able to get 90% of it to turn into powder. The rest was too hard. I probably could have shortened the second cook to an hour or so and been in the same position.
So I now have a nice spice container full of cherry powder. Gotta try some ribs again soon...
The process was easier than I expected... I will probably try the Trader Joe's cherries next time. I like their flavor better than the local brand. Too bad they're a hundred miles away...
Got some dried cherries at the local Safeway. Nothing fancy, big brand. Got home and opened them, and they were very soft and moist. Good for eating, but not for making into powder.
So I laid them out on foil on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 175º for about 4 hours. They were still soft, but I took them out and let them cool and they dried significantly. I then put a small handful (maybe 1/4 cup?) into a coffee grinder and pulsed them. Not bad, but still had lots of chunks of cherry that wouldn't powder, and the longer I ground them, the more the powder itself clumped up.
So I settled for short pulses and ground up the rest, a small handful at a time. Dumped it all into a wire strainer and sifted the powder out. Got about half of it, and put it away. I took the rest, put it back on a foil-covered cookie sheet, and baked it again for another 4 hours. Let it cool. Ah. that's better. I was able to get 90% of it to turn into powder. The rest was too hard. I probably could have shortened the second cook to an hour or so and been in the same position.
So I now have a nice spice container full of cherry powder. Gotta try some ribs again soon...
The process was easier than I expected... I will probably try the Trader Joe's cherries next time. I like their flavor better than the local brand. Too bad they're a hundred miles away...
