WSU Extension: How to preserve cherries

By SHEILA RYAN
WSU/Yakima County Extension

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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Who doesn't love cherries? Besides being delicious, they are full of fiber, vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium and potassium. Current research shows that sweet cherries contain antioxidants called flavonoids that can reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Flavonoids work with vitamin C to reduce cell stress and may slow down some of the effects of aging.

Choose firm, plump, shiny cherries with green stems and avoid cherries that are soft or have brown spots. Refrigerate your cherries immediately after purchase. Cherries can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for several days. Avoid placing cherries in the sun or warm areas; they may go limp quickly.

If you want to preserve cherries for winter eating, they are most easily frozen, but may be canned or dried.

 

Freezing cherries

Rinse and drain cherries thoroughly. The easiest way to freeze cherries is to spread them, in a single layer, on shallow trays and freeze. Remove and quickly package in labeled freezer bags or containers, removing as much air as possible from containers and allowing no headspace. Seal and return promptly to freezer.

If you prefer, cherries can be packed in sugar or in syrup. Add about 1/3 cup sugar for each pint of pitted or unpitted fresh sweet cherries; toss lightly to coat cherries. Fill freezer containers leaving from 1/2 inch to 11/2 inches at the top of the container for expansion of the cherries as they freeze. If freezing cherries for pies, combine 11/2 to 2 cups sugar with 4 cups pitted pie cherries for a 9-inch pie.

Cherries may also be frozen in syrup made using a ratio of 1 cup water to a scant 1/2 cup sugar for sweet cherries. Allow 1/2 to 2/3 cup syrup for each pint of fruit.For sour cherries, make syrup using a ratio of 1 cup water to 1 cup sugar. To pack fruit in syrup, pour 1/2 cup cold syrup in each container. Add fruit and cover with additional syrup, leaving sufficient headspace at top of container.


Canning cherries

Cherries are generally processed in a boiling water bath canner. They may be packed raw into jars, shaking them down to obtain a full pack, then covering with boiling syrup. A medium syrup is made by combining 51/4 cups water to 21/4 cups sugar. A lighter syrup may be made by decreasing the sugar to 11/2 cups. Cherries may be canned in water or fruit juice. Pints and quarts are processed 25 minutes at elevations of less than 1,000 feet and 30 minutes at elevations of 1,001 to 3,000 feet.

If you choose to pack cherries hot into jars, combine 1/2 cup water, juice or syrup per quart cherries. Bring to boil in covered pan. Pack hot cherries and cover with cooking liquid. Process pints 15 minutes at elevations of less than 1000 feet; 20 minutes at 1001 to 3000 feet. Add an additional five minutes for quarts.

 

Drying cherries

Dried cherries are really wonderful, as long as they are dried just until they are leathery and still very pliable. You can stop the dehydrating process at any point, however. If you like cherries still quite moist, store them in the freezer To dry cherries, remove the stem, slice in half and remove pit or pit and dry whole. For complete drying instructions, contact the extension office for the publication "Drying Fruits and Vegetables" ($2.50) or visit caheinfo.wsu.edu and click on online publications.

 

* Sheila Ryan is an agent for family and consumer science with the Yakima County office of Washington State University Cooperative Extension. For answers to food safety or food preservation questions, call the Master Food Preservers at 509-574-1600.

 



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