Food

Food Information

Fruit

Deciduous

CHERRIES

Cherries are drupes that are very closely related to plums and more distantlyrelated to peaches and nectarines. They are tasty, colorful, nutritious,and require no preparation. If cherries have one flaw, it is that they areavailable for an all too short a period of time. The cherry season is shortand sweet. Enjoy them during the months of May through July, because theyprobably won't be available any other time during the year.

Although cherries originated in the Middle East and have been cultivatedfor thousands of years in both Europe and the Orient, by far the biggestproducer, user, and exporter of cherries is the United States. Most of,and the best of, America's cherries are grown on the West Coast, with thestate of Washington number one in production. The large crop from Californiastarts off the season late in May and winds up in mid-June. Then the sceneshifts to the northwestern states and winds up early in August in BritishColumbia. Sweet cherries are also grown in the midwestern and northeasternstates, but their fruit doesn't compare in size or flavor with western cherries.(Michigan and New York State have large crops of sour cherries, nearly allof which are sold to canners. Only an insignificant amount is marketed asfresh fruit.)

When purchasing almost any other fresh fruit there are several good varietiesto choose from, but when it comes to cherries, it's a one-horse race. TheBing variety is in a class by itself. The rest of the cherry varietiesare either also-rans or never-rans. The Bing is the tastiest, firmest, meatiest,and largest cherry grown.

The Tartarians and the Burlatts are the two early varietiesthat precede the Bings to the marketplace. Although these first arrivalsare usually quite costly, the quality and the flavor is mediocre and thefruit is flabby. It's a good idea to pass up the early cherries and waitfor the arrival of the Bings, which are usually available the last weekin May and rule the roost until nearly the end of July. As the Bing seasonstarts to taper off, the later-blooming Vans, Larians, andLamberts arrive. These three varieties are quite good but are notin the same league as the Bings either in size or flavor and especiallyin firmness.

There are two light-colored or white varieties of cherries-the Napoleons(Royal Anne's) and the Raniers. These attractive cherriesare cream-colored and sport a red cheek. They have good size and fairlygood flavor. The white cherries are not as firm as the dark cherries, aremore fragile and easily bruised, and have a short shelf life. They havenever become too popular because jWhen you shop for cherries, what you seeis what you get. They will not ripen or improve in flavor after you makeyour purchase. If you buy pale, light-colored cherries, they won't be nearlyas sweet as the darker-colored fruit. Always select the firmest, darkest,and largest cherries available. The condition of the stem is a clue to thefreshness of the cherry. A fresh cherry will have a green stem firmly attachedto the fruit. If the stems have started to discolor, and especially if theyare no longer attached to the fruit, the cherries are showing their age.They were either delayed in transit or your retail market ordered them toofar ahead. An aged cherry isn't nearly as firm as one that has been harvestedmore recently. Pass up any cherries that are soft and flabby. Especiallyavoid those that are sticky or wet. Any decay is contagious, and like theproverbial bad apple, the bad cherry will contaminate nearby sound ones.

With the exception of cultivated blueberries, in most other fresh fruitsize has little bearing on flavor and texture. A medium-sized orange orapple is every bit as good as their larger counterparts. But when it comesto cherries, the bigger the better. Larger cherries are more costly thansmaller ones, but have more flavor and better texture and are well worththe premium price.

So look for the biggest, darkest, firmest, and freshest Bing cherries available.They'll probably be costly, but it doesn't pay to play a waiting game. Atbest the Bings are in season for eight to ten weeks. If you miss the boat,except for an insignificant, but very costly, supply imported from the SouthernHemisphere in January, the next boat won't dock for another forty-two weeks.

WHEN TO BUY: At peak June and July
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Large, dark, firm fruit
HOW TO STORE: Refrigerate immediately
ust as some people will buy only red-skinned apples, most people expectcherries to be red.



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