American black cherry

What it is

Prunus serotina is a cherry tree in the rose family. Its northern fruit is about 1 cm (0.4 in) across, with a single hard stone. The ripe skin is purple-black. Mexican capulines can be red or black and have sweet flesh.

The seed inside the stone is poisonous. Blending unpitted cherries can crack the stones and expose those seeds.

Where it comes from

Black cherry grows across much of eastern North America, from Canada through Michigan and Minnesota, south to Texas and central Florida. The capulín form is native from central Mexico to Guatemala.

Capulín has long been grown farther south, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. It belongs to cool upland country: trees grow at elevations of about 1,200–3,400 m (3,900–11,200 ft).

How it's eaten where it grows

In Michoacán and parts of Estado de México, tamales de capulín are a sweet course. The cherries are boiled until they soften, then passed through a strainer to remove the skins and stones. The pulp cooks with corn flour, sugar and cinnamon before being wrapped in corn husks and steamed. Plain atole, a maize drink, goes alongside.

In Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, sun-dried capulines become cerezas granuladas, little cherry raisins. In the Appalachians, pioneers steeped black cherries in rum or brandy for cherry bounce, the drink behind the name rum cherry.

How it's grown

This is a large, fast-growing tree: about 18–24 m (60–80 ft) tall, with leaves that fall for winter. Sun and well-drained ground suit it. Bees, flies and beetles visit its blossoms. Some trees growing in the open produce seed-bearing fruit at ten years old, and good crops usually come at intervals of one to five years.

When and where you'll find it

The central Mexican capulín season usually runs from May through August. Fresh fruit, cooked sweets and tamales are ways to meet it there; capulín tamales also appear in Mexico City’s markets.

Farther north, on the Allegheny Plateau of Pennsylvania and New York, woodland cherries usually ripen from mid-August to mid-September. Their flesh goes into jelly and jam.