John Myers
With this fruit, a distinction is made between the two groups of sweet and sour cherries, with the popular sweet variant being divided into early-ripening, soft-fleshed heart cherries, and firm-fleshed gristle cherries. Size and color can vary, ranging from yellow-red to almost black. Sour cherries are divided into morelle and amarelle. Their color ranges from light red to black-red. The flesh can also be light or dark.
Origin
The cherry comes from the wild bird cherry found in the Caucasus. It was first cultivated in Asia Minor before the Romans brought it to Europe. Nowadays they are mainly cultivated in Europe as well as in South and North America. Botanically, the cherry is related to the rose. What a cherry tree has in common with the queen of flowers is its bloom. It can produce up to a million flowers!
Season
The European cherry season starts in May with the first sweet varieties. At the beginning of July the first sour cherries hit the market. The high season ends in August. Thanks to new breeds, local cherries can also be harvested until early autumn. In addition, cherries are also imported from overseas and America, so that they are available very often throughout the year.
Taste
Sweet cherries taste mild and sweet, sour cherries have a sweet and sour aroma.
There are about 500 sweet and 250 sour cherries. But what they all have in common: the high sugar content of the flowers. This makes them valuable bee pastures for beekeepers, as the nectar is also very sweet.
Use
There are many possible uses for cherries: sweet cherries are ideal for fresh consumption, with sour cherries it depends on the acid whether they can still be nibbled raw. Otherwise, the possible uses range from desserts such as red fruit jelly to jams and cakes, such as our cherry cheesecake, or tortes. A classic is the Black Forest cake recipe. Compotes as an accompaniment to desserts are just as popular as cold cherries. Another type of cherry, the Brenn-Kirsch, is used to make fine fruit brandies, such as kirsch. The stone fruit is also ideal as a flavoring ingredient in a cherry punch. However, cherry trees are not only used for fruit production. Its wood is sought after in the furniture industry and was used for valuable pieces of furniture in earlier times.
Storage
Whether sweet or sour, cherries are delicate fruits. They want to be treated gently and used up as quickly as possible. Then cherries are healthy, the nutrients are better preserved. They should only be washed and stoned shortly before use so that they do not lose their aroma. You can freeze cherries very well. First, pit the fruit and let it drain. Then place on a tray and pre-freeze. Then place in a freezer bag and freeze completely. Cherries can also be preserved by drying them.
Durability
Cherries must be picked when ripe, as they do not ripen afterward. That’s why you can’t store them for a long time. At zero to two degrees Celsius, cherries keep for about 10 days.
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