Cherries are very easy to freeze. I’m talking about the sweet cherries, not the tart, pie cherries. Pie cherries need a little more work. I found Bing Cherries on sale (but of course!) at the store and bought several bags. I cleaned out my kitchen sinks and ran cold water into both sides. Then I dumped the bags of cherries in one side.
You can’t freeze cherries directly in a bag, or the fruit will freeze unevenly. The cherries on the top will harden first and squish the fruit on the bottom.
Another popular question is “Can you freeze sour cherries?”.
Similarly, whole pitted sour cherries can be frozen with ¾ of a cup of sugar for every quart of cherries. Carefully stir the cherries and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved and then place in freezing containers. Leave about ½ an inch of headspace in airtight containers or to remove as much as possible from plastic freezer bags.
If frozen, dried cherries will remain in great condition for up to 18 months, and can still be eaten past that date although they may not taste as good as when consumed earlier. This is a good way to store cherries if you have pantry pests getting into dried fruits in the warmer months. How do you freeze tart cherries?
Place the sheet(s) of pitted cherries in the freezer and freeze them for at least a few hours and, preferably, overnight. You can stack sheet on top of each other, but make sure to line the tops of each tray so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the one stacked on top.
Should bing cherries be refrigerated?
Sweet cherries, such as Bing, stay fresh for about two to three weeks in the refrigerator, and sour cherries, such as Montmorency or Early Richmond, last about three to seven days. Both types may retain their quality for several months in commercial cold storage. Discard cherries soon if they’re soft, mushy, bruised, or discolored.
If you are planning on storing your cherries for more than a few hours, you should put them in the refrigerator so they will not go bad. It is important not to wash your cherries before refrigerating them, but rather right before you are going to eat them.
Do you have to wash Cherries before eating?
Wash them with cold water just before eating. Avoid washing prior to storage, as moisture can be absorbed where the stem meets the fruit and lead to splits or spoilage. Cherries can also be frozen. Pit them if you wish, or keep them whole with stems intact.
Can you eat Bing cherries off the stem?
Cherries are a popular fruit because of their fresh sweet taste and ease of preparation – they can be eaten right off the stem (after rinsing of course) or used in hundreds of different ways including baked goods. Cherries come in different varieties, the most common being Bing cherries.
What is a Bing cherry tree?
I’m talking about Bing cherries, of course. The variety was first introduced in 1875 in Salem, Oregon and has become one of the most economically important cherries. Bing cherry trees thrive in temperate regions and bear 4 to 7 years from planting.
How do you keep cherries fresh for a long time?
Cold storage is key to keeping cherries fresh. According to a cherry expert we spoke to, cherries can lose more quality in one hour at room temperature than a day in the refrigerator. Thus, get your cherries in the fridge as soon as possible, preferably wrapped in a plastic bag.
Another popular question is “How long do cherries last?”.
Thus, they should be kept away from liquids at all costs. It is also recommended by many food professionals that you wait until right before using or serving cherries to wash them. Freshly picked or bought cherries last only about two days at room temperature.
How can you tell if a cherry is fresh?
First off, you should see if the stems are still connected to the cherries. Generally cherries with stems attached are fresher than cherries without stems. If the cherries you are looking at do have stems, check their color. Bright green stems signal cherry health and freshness.