If you are lucky enough to have a fruiting cherry tree in your yard, you may now have too many cherries for your family to eat before they go bad or before the birds eat them. Here are ways to preserve, cook, freeze or get rid of your abundance. This is a page for using up your cherry harvest.
I wash, pit and halve the cherries. Then place them cut side up on a dehydrator; close but not on top of each other. Dry for about 2 days until leathery. Put on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes to cool down. Then put in a large plastic bag overnight. If there is any moisture in the plastic bag, put back in the dehydrator for a few more hours.
Keep testing until there is no moisture in the bag, so that there will be no mold. After this I put them in a wide mouth jar, and vacuum seal. Will keep at least a year.
Source: Various dehydrator books and friends. These might keep longer than a year, but I've always eaten them by year's end. Good luck!
Below are some helpful tips, facts and a recipe about those
delicious cherries that will be ripe on the tree before you
know it.
Look for a supple exterior and a bright color. Keep them
dry and discard any crushed fruit .
Avoid cherries with blemishes, rotted or mushy skins, or
those that appear either hard and light-colored or soft,
shriveled, and dull.
Look for cherries that are plump with firm, smooth, and
brightly colored skins.
*Good quality cherries should have green stems attached.
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Cherries do not ripen further after harvest.
Cherries bruise easily; handle with care.
Both the sweet and sour types should be refrigerated as
soon as possible, although the sweets are more durable.
Chilling not only preserves, but also seems to improve the
flavor.
Raw sweet cherries: 1 cup contains 81 calories, and is a
source of Vitamin C and potassium.
Rinse in cool water and drain, in a single layer, on paper
towel.
Both sweet and sour can be made into jams, preserves or
brandied.
Rich in bio-flavonoids and ellagic acid. Studies show
cherries to be a good source of antioxidants and darker
cherries will have higher levels than red/yellow ones.
Fat-free, Saturated fat-free,
Sodium-free,Cholesterol-free, A good source of fiber.
