The Cherry and Other Fave Fruit Southern England Fruit Dishes

If there is one thing that the South of England is known for it is it’s delicious cherry, blackberry and plum dishes in the area. These are of both the sweet and savory variety.

Cherries grow in a thousand orchards in the area.  A favorite way to preserve them is to simply steep the freshly picked berries in a spicy alcoholic syrup. Cherries in Brandy is a common dessert where the cherries are served in this syrup with mint on top of an orange cream pudding.

Cherry and Almond cake is another classic treat that consists of ground up almonds and cherries that are crushed into the dough.  The loaf is then covered with glacee cherris and cherry syrup.

Both Blackberry Snow and Cherry Snow are common desserts in the area. This is swirls of iced fruit puree that is layered with a creamy egg white mixture. Often it is also topped off with whipped cream.

There are also many apple orchards in the South of England.  A classic is called Banbury Apple Pie. This pie contains apples, raisins, orange juice, milk, a lot of nutmeg and a sugar crusted top layer of dough.

On the savory side of things, Southern Englanders also enjoy Lamb With Cherries. This is a very unusual casserole in which vegetable and lamb are mixed with whole cherries and then served hot with new potatoes.

Cherries are such an important part of the harvest every year that the town of Ripe in the Sussex South Downs celebrates it every year with the Ripe Harvest.  Ripe pies are the main feast dish. These are almond and cherry pies that have a corn flour and almond crust.

Although not that local because it is made with oranges, there is a famous dish known as Boodles Orange Fool. This is a famous dessert made in the Boodl’s lub in London’s St. James Street. This dish has been around since 1764.  It is simply layers of sponge cake soaked in orange juice and sugar that is then layered with whipped cream.

You will also find a lot of dishes made with Sultana raisins in the area. Chicken and rabbit are also cooked often with raisins.  Chelsea Buns are flat buns cooked in coils and sometimes decorated with Sultanas.  Another favorite are Queen Cakes. These are individual sponge cakes packed with raisins that are served with an accompanying glass of wine or cider.