Eating fruits and vegetables that are in season is the best. This is when they are the freshest and often the least expensive time to purchase. Early summer is when cherries are in season. Cherries have a fairly short season so grab them when they are available.

The cherry is a small fruit in the stone family also called drupe. There are two types of cherries, sweet and sour. There are over 500 types of sweet cherries with the Bing cherry being the most popular and over 270 varieties of sour cherries. Montmorency is the most popular sour cherry.

Cherries are native to Europe and west Asia and cultivation dates back to at least ancient Greek times. It was one of the first fruits that early settlers brought to America in the 1600’s. We visited northern Michigan last year which is a huge cherry growing area. French colonist would plant cherry pits along the Saint Lawrence River and down into the Great Lakes Area. Cherry trees became popular in many gardens of French settlers. In the 1840’s a Presbyterian missionary named Peter Dougherty planted the first cherry orchard in northern Michigan. This area now hosts the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, MI which is considered the “Cherry Capital of the World”.

About the same time another man, Henderson Lewelling, planted an orchard in western Oregon from nursery stock he had transported by ox cart from Iowa.

Nutritional Highlights

Both sour and sweet cherries are high in flavonoids and melatonin. The darker the cherry, the more flavonoids it will contain. Sour cherries have about 10 times more vitamin A as the sweet cherries.  Both are good sources of vitamin C and copper. The sour will have more manganese.

Health Benefits

• Pain Relief – Cherries have an antioxidant that can have similar effects as ibuprofen and naproxen on inhibiting inflammation, pain, and fever.
• Improved Sleep – The Montmorency tart cherry has a significant amount of the antioxidant melatonin which affects the sleep process and may help with managing depression.
• Gout – Cherries have been found to be helpful in the treatment and preventing attacks of gout which is a type of arthritis with high concentrations of uric acid in the blood.
• Anti-inflammatory Properties – Cherries are a source of polyphenols and vitamin C. Studies have shown that these have decreased markers for oxidative stress, inflammation, blood pressure, arthritis, AIC markers, and exercise-induced muscle soreness and loss of strength. This suggests that eating sweet or sour cherries can promote health by preventing/decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation. Cherries have had a positive application for diabetes, inflammation, neuronal disease, and cardiovascular health. Some attributes of cherries may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and some cancers.

Selecting the Best Cherries

The cherry season in the US is only about 3 months long; fresh cherries sold after August are either from cold storage or imported. The best cherries are large, bright, glossy, and plump looking. The stem is left on because once it has broken off there will be a break in the skin which starts the decaying process. Look for a fresh-looking green stem. The cherries should be firm but not hard. If they are rock hard, they are underripe and do not ripen after picking. Cherries will last about a week in the fridge.

Safety of Eating Cherries

Cherries should be enjoyed in moderation as they contain fructose which can be harmful to your health if consumed in excessive amounts. They are also susceptible to the growth of Aspergillus mold which is the same toxin found in moldy peanuts. This toxin has been found to have a carcinogenic effect in animal studies.

Organic is best as cherries are on the 2021 Dirty Dozen list; by purchasing organic you will be exposed to less pesticides.

Here are some recipes to check out to add cherries to your diet.

• Summer Buzz Fruit Salad
• Cherry Barbecue Sauce
• Northwest Cherry Salsa
• Sweet Cherry Almond Bars
• Berry-Cherry Baked Oatmeal

Do you enjoy cherries when they are in season? Do you have a favorite recipe for fresh or frozen cherries? Summer is a time to enjoy fresh fruit and cherries are one of our favorites.

Be blessed and be a blessing,

Heather

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Sources: 

• Kiple, KF and Conee Ornelas, K. (2000). The cambridge world history of food. Cambridge University Press. New York, NY.
• Murrary, M., ND, PIzzorno, J., ND, and Pizzorno, L. M., LMT. (2017). The encyclopedia of healing foods. Atria Books. New York, NY.
• https://foodfacts.mercola.com/sweet-cherries.html
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26304685/
• https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/3/368