Cherries

Choose firm, red cherries with stems, which prolong their shelf life. Avoid cherries that are soft or have brown spots.

Rinse cherries carefully in cool water before eating. Eat cherries plain or in salads, or use them cooked in pies, tarts, cakes, jellies, jams, preserves, sauces, pickles and candies. Use cherries as a garnish, in toppings, and in sauces for pork, poultry, fish and beef. Always add them last in the cooking process.

Try to keep your cherries out of the sun. As temperatures rise, cherries become limp, and the stems will turn brown and shrivel. Remember, you can freeze cherries in airtight containers for up to one year.

Cherries do not ripen after harvest. They are very perishable, so refrigerate them immediately after purchase. Cherries can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Cherries Nutritional Facts:

  • Fat free
  • Saturated fat free
  • Sodium free
  • Cholesterol free
  • A good source of fiber

Use pitted sweet cherries in yogurt, desserts, or even as a sweet topping for grilled meat.

Cooking Tip: To pit several cherries at once, place them in a zip-top bag and roll over them gently with a rolling pin so they split. Remove from the bag, pluck out pits, and enjoy this fruit so rich in antioxidants.

Cherry Prose: Cherry Ripe

Cherry-ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry,
Full and fair ones; come and buy.
If so be you ask me where
They do grow, I answer: There,
Where my Julia's lips do smile;
There's the land, or cherry-isle,
Whose plantations fully show
All the year where cherries grow.

Robert Herrick (1648)

See also:   Cherry Food Facts
Tart Cherries Provide Arthritis Relief

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Cherries Jubilee (New window)

See also:
Cherries Jubliee
Cherries in the Snow
Tart Cherry Pie
Cherry Cream Pie
Cherry Turnovers
Black Forest Parfait
Cherry Chocolate Pie
Cherry Granola Hearts
Easy Cherry Jelly
Cherry S'Mores Diet Candy Recipe
Finally, from "my kitchen": Chocolate Covered Cherries

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