The crown jewels of summer - fresh cherries - have arrived in all their glory. Cherry trees are loaded with fruit and are ready to be picked. The branches are full and picking could not be better.

There are more than a thousand varieties of cherries, the most common in New York state being tart cherries. There are approximately 2,600 acres of tart cherries and 750 acres of sweet cherries in the state. In 2005, New York ranked 47th in the nation for cherry production with 7.5 million pounds being harvested - worth about $3.24 million.

I spoke with Ben Vitale, executive director of the Regional Market, about this year's cherry crop. According to Ben, there was excessive rain in the Southern Tier, but the “Cherry Belt” did not receive as much rain so the cherry crops look great. He told me that tart cherries are quite hard to find in New York state. They are being replaced by the ever popular sweet cherry. Most people refer to sweet cherries as Bing Cherries, but actually, they are not.

There are many different varieties of sweet cherries. The Queen Anne's sweet cherry is a little later than the typical dark, almost purple sweet cherries. The Queen Anne's are golden-yellow with a reddish blush and are usually ripe a couple of weeks after the other sweet cherry varieties.

My husband and I took our two grandchildren, ages 9 and 3, cherry picking on a recent Saturday morning. The branches were low enough for them both to pick and try a few samples. We filled two large plastic bowls and an eight-quart fruit basket in less than an hour. We ended up picking more than 30 pounds of those beauties and couldn't wait to get home to start up the cherry pitter.

When we got home, I washed some of the cherries and was ready to start pitting. I have a cherry pitter that we got a few years ago and have used it every year when the cherries are ripe; but this year, one of the parts was missing. A little rubber gasket that the plunger pushes the pit through seemed to have vanished. I know that Sauder's Store in Seneca Falls has the gaskets but they were not open. I was frantic! After searching for the little orange gasket, I finally decided I would need to make one. I went to Noble Ace Hardware on Grant Avenue and spoke with the store manager, Dave Gonyea.

What a help he was to me. He suggested purchasing a couple of neoprene washers and cutting one to the size I needed.

I cut the washer to fit the slot, slid it into the opening and thankfully, it worked perfectly. I started pitting cherries faster than I thought I ever could.

Once the clean, washed cherries were pitted, I put them on a single layer on a cookie sheet and froze them over night.

After they were frozen, I put them in plastic gallon containers and labeled them. They are just waiting to be used in one of my many favorite recipes.

If you have a recipe that you've used for years and it calls for Cherry Pie Filling, try making your own. Mix about 3/4 to 1 cup sugar in a saucepan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add a dash of cinnamon. Then add 2 to 3 cups pitted cherries and 1 teaspoon of almond extract. Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens and boil for one minute.

Let cool, and you have your own homemade Cherry Pie Filling. Use that pie filling for dips, as an ice-cream topping or on a slice of pound cake or angel food cake.

Pick up some cherries at your local farmer's market or pick some yourself. Try one of my cherry recipes, and you'll be in love with those little red fruits forever. Remember, the heart of the home is the kitchen.

Denise's Cherry Cheesecake Dip

8 ounces Cool Whip

8 ounces sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix above ingredients together and let set in the refrigerator for one hour. Carefully spread one can of Cherry Pie Filling on top. Serve with Graham Cracker Sticks or small vanilla cookies for dipping.

Cherry Upside-Down Cake

Topping

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

14 ounce cherries, pitted and halved

Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup milk

For topping: Butter sides of a 9-inch cake pan. Melt 1/4 cup

butter in same pan over low heat. Add brown sugar, whisk until blended. Remove from heat. Spread mixture over bottom of pan. Arrange cherries, cut side down, in single layer in bottom of pan and press lightly. Set aside.

For cake: Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and butter in another bowl until creamy. Mix in egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients

alternately with milk.

Using a mixer fitted with clean beaters, beat egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter until stiff. Stir 1/4 of the whites into the cake batter. Using a spatula, gently fold in remaining white. Spoon batter on top of cherries. Bake until deep golden brown

at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes or until tester inserted in

center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of pan to loosen cake. Place platter over cake and invert onto platter. Let stand five minutes, and remove pan. Serve cake warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

Karen Luziani, who lives in Union Springs, is a self-taught pastry chef who specializes in cookies and decorating cakes. She can be reached at underwood50@hotmail.com