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National Cherries Jubilee Day

Food · September 24

A day for cherries jubilee, the flambéed dessert of cherries in a warm sauce, usually spooned over vanilla ice cream.

National Cherries Jubilee Day falls on Friday, September 24, 2027. That is 332 days away.

Cherries jubilee is a dessert of cherries cooked in a sweet sauce, then doused with liqueur or brandy and set alight for a moment before serving. It usually lands on a scoop of vanilla ice cream, where the hot fruit and cold cream meet and start to melt into each other.

The flame is the part people remember. It burns off quickly, leaving a glossy, dark red syrup with a faint warmth from the spirit. For a long stretch this was a tableside dish in formal restaurants, wheeled out on a cart and lit with some ceremony, which is a lot of theater for a bowl of fruit.

At home it is simpler than it looks. Pitted cherries, sugar, a little juice or water and some cornstarch to thicken make the base in a skillet. Frozen or jarred cherries work well when fresh ones are out of season. Many cooks skip the flame entirely and just simmer the sauce, or leave out the alcohol and add a squeeze of lemon instead.

If you do light it, pull the pan away from the burner first, keep a lid nearby, and stand back. The fire is brief and the sauce underneath is what matters.

Dark sweet cherries give the richest color, while tart cherries make a sharper sauce that stands up nicely to very sweet ice cream.

Ways to celebrate

• Simmer cherries with sugar and spoon them warm over vanilla ice cream.
• Try an alcohol-free version with cherry juice and a squeeze of lemon.
• Compare sauces made with sweet cherries and tart cherries side by side.
• Spoon leftover cherry sauce over pancakes or plain yogurt the next morning.

Dates

All national days on September 24

Also on September 24

• National Horchata Day
• Bluebird of Happiness Day
• National Punctuation Day

Categories: Food days