Sour cherries where to find

For me, cherries had always remained on the periphery of the long-awaited summer fruits. Sometimes known as pie cherries, sour cherries are tart and tangy, which is why cooking and sweetening them are imperative. Look for cherries that are deep scarlet with green stems intact, which help to keep them fresh for longer. They should be shiny and smooth with no bruises or wrinkled peels. Sour cherries are softer and more fragile than sweet cherries, so handle them with care.

While cherries make a wonderful companion for summer picnics, leaving them in the sun will sap them of their flavor, so make sure you get through them quickly to savor their tartness.

A great way to preserve this beloved stone fruit is by freezing or dehydrating them. Whether you want to pit and destem before freezing is up to you, just remember to freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet before moving them to a bag or container. Dehydrating cherries on the other hand is a whole-day activity, but the reward of keeping a taste of summer in your pantry is, in my opinion, very worth it. Late-harvested, fully ripe Balatons can reach 24 degrees Brix a measure of sweetness and are delicious to eat fresh, but many Persians and other ethnic customers prefer them tart, around 18 degrees Brix.

Harvest is painstaking. The fruit is soft and must be handled gently. There is hope for the future for California, though. Next year a young 1-acre orchard planted by Murray Family Farms near Bakersfield should start bearing and will make local sour cherries available again.

An end to frustration for Southern California sour cherry fanatics may be at hand. Wes Avila to open a new Mexican restaurant in Hollywood next month.

Andy Baraghani puts his bold, stylish spin on Thanksgiving classics. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. These cherries are primarily used for canning, processing into jams, and baking delicious pies and desserts.

The fresh tart cherries are available now and will continue through approximately July Fresh Tart Cherry Pricing. However, frozen, pre-pitted sour cherries are available all year and can be used just like fresh sour cherries. They will start to break down and get mealy in colder temperatures, so try to eat them within a week. I still call them sour cherries. When you bake with sweet cherries, the sugar is so high without acidity to balance it out so the flavor is one-note, and sometimes too sweet.

A sour cherry wants to be turned into jam. Told you. Every year they host the National Cherry Festival, where you can participate in a cherry pit spitting contest contingent upon the presence of a global pandemic.