How to Select and Store Cherries

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 23, 2023 References Approved

Cherries are delicious. Whether for garnishing a drink or popping in your mouth, a cherry is sweet, tart fruit with many uses. Picking cherries isn’t hard! You just need to examine them closely for defects, bad coloring, and firmness. Once you’ve picked your cherries, you need to choose a proper way to store them.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Picking Cherries

1
Choose where you will pick them. You need to determine the location you will get your cherries from. Cherry orchards generally have the freshest cherries. You can also try the local farmer’s market. If it’s not the season, then you will not be able to obtain cherries in this manner. In this situation, you should go to your local grocery store. They will generally have cherries in stock.
- If you do end up going to a cherry orchard, you should pick cherries form the trees. Doing this is simple, just grasp the cherry with your forefinger and thumb, and gently pull it off of the tree.^{[1]
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2
Check the skin. The quality of the skin usually indicates the freshness of a cherry. Look for cherries that have firm and glossy skin. Gaze at each batch to make sure there are no blemishes on the fruit. Feel them to see how soft they are. They should feel firm to the touch.^{[2]
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- Avoid cherries that are too soft. These cherries are generally not fresh. Also, if cherries have wrinkles close to the stem, then they are generally not as fresh as they could be.
- This can be dependent on cherry type as well. For example, Rainier cherries are not as firm as other cherries. Take this into account when you are checking cherries out.
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3
Look at stems. First off, you should see if the stems are still connected to the cherries. Generally cherries with stems attached are fresher than cherries without stems. If the cherries you are looking at do have stems, check their color. Bright green stems signal cherry health and freshness.^{[3]
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Examine the color. You won’t necessarily be looking for a particular type of red. What you are trying to determine is the overall concentration of red. Darker cherries will be fresher than light-colored cherries.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Preserving Cherries

1
Avoid sunshine. Unless you are going to dry them, your cherries should be placed in a dark, cool place. Cherries should at no point be placed in an area where they will be exposed to a large amount of sunlight. This exposure will shrink and wrinkle them which will sap their flavor.
2
Keep them cold. Cherries stay fresh in cold temperatures. Only keep your cherries at room temperature for a very short time. To keep your cherries fresh, you should refrigerate them. You just need to put the cherries in a resealable plastic bag, and then place the bag in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for 3–5 days, or even up to two weeks.
- If you keep cherries at room temperature, then you should be prepared to eat them immediately. For the cherries will only be good for up to 2 days. Make sure to wash and dry all cherries before eating.
3
Separate them. Cherries will pick up flavors from other items in your fridge. Therefore, if you don’t want your cherries to taste like your stew or garlic, then you need to put them in a space that doesn’t contain any fragrant items.
- To help avoid this, make sure that you seal your cherries in containers or plastic bags. This will make it harder for the cherries to be permeated by smelly items in your fridge.
4
Freeze cherries. By freezing cherries, you will make sure that they keep their freshness and flavor. You should choose whether you want to pit them or not. You don’t need to pit them, but some prefer to do this. After you make this decision, then you just need to get your materials ready. Pull out a baking sheet, line the cherries in one layer then put them in the freezer. Wait for an hour, take them out and drop them in a couple of bags. You should make sure they are completely firm before you do this.
- When you put them in bags, make sure to squeeze as much air out as possible to avoid freezer burn. Frozen cherries can be kept for up to a year.^{[4]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Drying Cherries

1
Preheat your oven. You should set the heat on your oven at 165°F(74°C). As you are preparing your cherries to be dried, the oven will be heating up. This should take about an hour.
2
Clean your cherries. Wash the cherries that you have thoroughly. You are going to want to use room temperature water to clean them. After you clean the cherries thoroughly, you should dry them with paper towels.^{[5]
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Arrange the cherries. You should then place them on a baking sheet. Be sure to leave a bit of space between the cherries. They should be about half an inch apart from each other.
4
Put the cherries in the oven. Decrease your oven’s heat to 135°F(57°C). Now, you should place the cherries in the oven. Give the cherries six hours to heat up. They will look like raisins when they are done. You should then place them in containers and put them in the freezer.^{[6]
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- You can also dry the cherries in the sun. Simply wash, pit, and dry them first, then place them on trays. Now leave them in a place where there is plenty of sun for two to five days. You may want to toss them in the oven for about thirty minutes afterwards to get rid of any bacteria.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

Question

If cherries are so red that they are almost black does this mean they are ripe?

Community Answer

Yes, I found out the hard way and lost 70% of my first harvest. See the tip above in reference to the stem. When the stems are still green but starting to turn a shade, its likely time to pick.
Question

Do cherries stay fresher if I leave the stems on?

Community Answer

All of the pictures show storing the cherries with their stems on, so I recommend leaving the stems on until consumption.
Question

I was told to only wash the cherries you plan to eat immediately as they lose their nutritional value, is this true or false?

Community Answer

That is false. You can wash them anytime before the expiration date. You can wash all of them and put it back in the refrigerator so the next time you want cherries you can just eat them.