Cherry season is upon on, but these super sweet bite-sized fruits won't be around for long! I’m highlighting everything you need to know about cherry season and ways to reap them long beyond the fresh summer season.
Summer is synonymous with one of nature's sweetest gifts - cherries. Cherry season is the highlight of my summer, but pinning down the exact time for peak ripeness can be tricky. And while cherries are one of my favorite grab-and-go snacks, there's nothing worse than paying an exorbitant amount of money and biting into an underripe or mushy cherry.
So if you want to avoid bringing home a wasted bag of cherries, read on to learn everything you need to know about cherry season.
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When Are Cheries In Season?
Cherry season typically spans from May to August, with different harvest seasons for sweet and sour cherries.
It may be a fleeting few months of the summer, but growers cultivate different varieties that peak at overlapping times to bring you an uninterrupted supply of fresh cherries throughout the summer.
Depending on where you live, cherries will likely start popping up in markets around late May or early June, and can stick around as late as mid-August. But, the very best time to bring home a load of this sweet summer fruit is during it's peak in the month of July.
Sweet cherries, including the popular Bing and Rainier varieties, are available from May to August. Juicy, sweet and perfect for eating out of hand - these are the cherries you'll likely see at the supermarket or farmers markets.
While Bing cherries are easy enough to come by in the summer, the harvest season for Rainer cherries is limited to June and July.
Sour, or tart cherries, have a much shorter growing season. You will find them for a week or two in the middle of June and as late as July and August.
Because they don’t hold up as well during shipping, you're not likely to see fresh sour cherries at the grocery store. You may find frozen, canned, or juiced sour cherries, but farmers markets are your best bet for fresh.
🛒 Shopping Tip
- Resist grabbing a bag when they first hit the shelves: Waiting until mid-June to start buying cherries will likely save you a few bucks.
- Weigh before you go: Has a $4.99 bag of cherries ever turned into a $10 bag at checkout?? Ready-to-go cherries are sold per pound, NOT by the bag. Toss them on the scale before hitting the checkout line!
Selection & Storage
You want cherries that are firm, plump, and shiny with a saturated color. As a general rule, the darker the cherry, the more intense the flavor. Choose cherries with the darkest color for their variety.
Once you’ve selected the perfect cherries, pick out and discard any bruised or moldy cherries from the bunch.
Keep cherries, unwashed and stems attached, in a loosely-covered plastic bag with a paper towel in the refrigerator. Even when you keep cherries chilled, they won’t last long. Use within 5 to 7 days.
If you don’t plan on eating your cherries right away, freeze them! Wash, dry, then pit each cherry. Spread them out on a baking sheet, freeze for at least 2 hours and transfer to a freezer-safe bag.
Health Benefits of Cherries
🍒 Adding a serving of cherries to your day can help get you 3 grams closer to consuming the recommended amount of fiber. That’s not only helpful for heart health, but for supporting a healthy digestive system, too!
🍒 Cherries provide a healthy dose of vitamin C and potassium, and deliver an antioxidant boost from each serving.
🍒 Naturally low on the glycemic index, cherries have less on an impact on blood sugar levels.
🍒 Sweet cherries can also support better quality and quantity of sleep due to their rich anthocyanin and melanin content.
What to do with cherries
As easy as they are to snack on straight out of the bag, cherries are also really fun to mix into recipes. From sweet desserts to savory sandwiches and cocktails in between, I've rounded up 24 dietitian-created cherry recipes so you can get your fill before the season is over!
What's your favorite way to use cherries!? Let me know in the comments!
Did you try this? Let us know!