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National Cherry Popover Day

Food · September 1

Cherry popovers pair crisp, hollow, eggy rolls with tart or sweet cherries, served warm at breakfast or split and filled for dessert.

National Cherry Popover Day falls on Wednesday, September 1, 2027. That is 309 days away.

Cherries and popovers make a good match because they meet in the middle. The popover brings a crackly shell and a soft, custardy inside. The cherry brings color, a little tartness and enough juice to soak into all that empty space.

There are a few ways to put them together. Some bakers drop pitted cherries into the batter so they sink and bake into the base. Others leave the popover plain and spoon warm cherries over the top once it comes out of the oven, which keeps the shell crisp. A third camp splits each popover open and fills it with cherry jam, then dusts it with powdered sugar.

The pairing changes with the time of day. At breakfast, a popover with a spoonful of cherry preserves and a pat of butter sits somewhere between toast and pastry. After dinner, the same roll filled with cooked cherries and whipped cream starts to look like a small, airy shortcake. Sour cherries lean toward dessert, since they need sugar. Sweet dark cherries can go into the batter as they are.

Pitting is the slow part. A cherry pitter helps, and so does a sturdy straw pushed through the stem end over a bowl. Frozen pitted cherries skip the job, though they should be thawed and patted dry so they do not water down the batter.

Serve them right away. A popover is at its best in the first few minutes, while it still crackles when you tear it open.

Ways to celebrate

• Split a warm popover and fill it with cherry jam.
• Try a dessert version with cooked cherries and whipped cream.
• Pit cherries with a sturdy straw over a bowl.
• Compare sour and sweet cherries in two batches.
• Share a plate of cherry popovers at breakfast.

Dates

All national days on September 1

Also on September 1

• Ginger Cat Appreciation Day
• National Gyro Day
• World Letter Writing Day

Categories: Food days