Cherry Douci

Aside from the delicious and intoxicating experiment with Cherry Bounce, I’ve  neglected to incorporate cherry desserts into this blog. The reason is pretty obvious – cherries rarely outlast the snacking phase.

The 1921 “Report of the Maryland Agricultural Society” made note that “Cherries have never been considered as one of the money makers for Maryland,” and the Society advised that would-be commercial cherry growers make sure to plant sour varieties or the Tartarian black cherry or Spanish yellow.

It is true that cherries had been shipped to Baltimore from California in the late 1800s, but primarily in the early season or in years of crop failures. In July of 1889, the Sun mentioned that early “May Dukes” had arrived from California (in May, of course) but that Maryland cherries came in later – first from the southernmost county, St. Mary’s. Black Tartarian cherries from Howard and Carroll Counties held “the highest place in the popular taste,” and frequently reached “three-quarters of an inch diameter.” These cherries were in turn shipped to places with shorter growing seasons: New York and Philadelphia.

Property listings throughout the 18th and 19th century mentioned cherry trees among their orchards, often listing the specific varieties. And in June of 1891 the Sun reported that the greater Baltimore region was experiencing a bumper year for cherries. Farmer Ezra Chew of Patapsco shipped 20,425 lbs of red cherries to New York “for present use,” and sent the crop of white cherries to Baltimore for packing. Cherries were so abundant that year that packing plants could not keep up, and were turning the crops away.

The following year, a recipe for “cherry toast” was published in regional newspapers:

“To make cherry toast, toast thin slices of stale bread and spread over them, while hot, a trifle of butter. Stew one quart of cherries either with or without pitts, adding half a cup of water, and pour over the toast in alternate layers of bread and fruit. Set away and serve cold. The cherries while warm should be sugared to taste.” – The News (Frederick Maryland) July 23, 1892

This simple recipe is nearly identical to a mysterious recipe found in two Maryland cookbooks. Entitled “Cherry Douci” in “Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen,” (1873) and “Cherry Douce” in “Queen of the Kitchen” (1870), the recipe also appears in “Maryland’s Way” as “Cherry Douci,” albeit in a completely different form more akin to a cobbler.

The Maryland’s Way recipe is attributed to Alice Key, who was possibly a relative of the authors of “Queen of the Kitchen” (Mary Lloyd Tyson) and “Fifty Years…” (Mrs. B.C. Howard), but I have not seen that original manuscript and cannot determine if there is a connection with the recipes. 

I couldn’t find any other recipes with a similar name. The mystery is primarily an etymological one – Maryland cookbook author Elizabeth Ellicott Lea included a version of Cherry Toast in her 1859 book “Domestic Cookery.” It seems apparent that “Douce/i” is a variant of the Romance Languages’ words for ‘sweet.’ Did Tyson rename it when she added meringue?

“Domestic Cookery”, 1859 Elizabeth Ellicott Lea

Though Lea does suggest nutmeg or cinnamon, her version is simpler; there is no layering or topping.

For an informed opinion on Cherry Douci, I consulted Maryland culinary historian Joyce White. She informed me that as far as names go, an 1857 Indiana cookbook, Collins’s “Great Western Cook Book,” has a recipe named Peaches Douce Et Aigre. Again, the connection here is purely etymological – the recipe is for pickled peaches.

Joyce White’s offered me some more background on the origin of Cherry Douci, the dish. (Plus a reminder of another very Maryland dessert that I need to get around to making…):

“This recipe as written in Howard’s book appears to be a variation of a British summer pudding or an Apple Charlotte, where fried bread is used to line a mold, then it is filled with apple compote, and more fried bread is used to cover the opening at the top. The whole thing is baked and best served warm. The theory behind this is that it emerged during the reign of King George III in honor of his Queen Charlotte who was a patron of apple growers. Lots of variations to this emerged including the Charlotte Russe which used sponge fingers to line the mould and was filled with fruit-flavored cream. The Maryland version, Kossuth Cake, was a variation of the Charlotte Russe.”

As for the dish, it was plenty tasty. I followed Howard’s instructions, more or less. The addition of meringue is unique to Howard and Tyson, and may be what turns ‘toast’ into ‘douci,’ but I would have preferred whipped cream. All in all it’s not a bad way to use up the last of your cherries. 

After singing the praises of the Howard and Carroll County Black Tartarian cherries, the Sun lamented that the cherry trees “will be denuded within a week,” with the consolation that “the blackberry will be at the funeral of the cherry.”

Cherry Douce, “Queen of the Kitchen”, M.L. Tyson, 1870

Cherry Douci, “Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen”, Mrs. B.C. Howard, 1873

Further explanation of the connection between these two women and their cookbooks can be found in this post.