The fruit of sour cherry trees (prunus cerasus) and sugar are the basic ingredients of Amarene Brusche di Modena PGI jam, produced in the province of Modena and in some municipalities of the metropolitan city of Bologna.
The history of this sour-tasting jam is interwoven with Modena’s gastronomic tradition. Evidence of its existence dates back to the Renaissance, when in his work L’Arte di Ben Cucinare (1662) the cook Bartolomeo Stefani included a recipe for the preparation of a sour cherry jam. At the end of the 19th century, the famous Pellegrino Artusi also dedicated a page of his recipe book to tart with sour cherry jam.
The reasons that link the production of amarena brusche cherries to this area are to be found in the great availability of the product – the different qualities of amarena cherries that make up the jam ripen at the same time of year – and in the difficulty of preserving them for a long time. In the past, cooking the fruit and using it in the preparation of cakes and syrups was in fact the best way to enjoy them for as long as possible.
In the kitchen
In their natural state, with ice cream or as the main ingredient in cakes, Amarene Brusche di Modena PGI make every recipe unmistakable thanks to their sour flavour. In the Modenese tradition, the jam is used above all in the preparation of black cherry tart, made with shortcrust pastry covered with Amarene Brusche. The combination of the sweetness of the shortcrust pastry and the tartness of the jam gives this dessert an interesting balance of flavours.
