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As soon as the cherries start to ripen, we have a short time to harvest them. Given that the little fruits are so small, they will only accumulate very slowly. In the end, however, you will have a large amount of cherries that you certainly won’t be able to process all at once. You can make jams, compotes, pies and various other desserts. Or you can freeze the cherries and use them, for example, in winter. There are two great ways to do it.
Freezing with or without sugar
Whether you harvest your own cherries or have the opportunity to buy them cheaply in season, it pays to know as many ways as possible to process them. They are extremely soft fruit that should ideally be processed the same day you pick them. At most the next day. If you decide to freeze cherries with sugar, you can have them nicely flavored.
Cherries frozen without sugar
The basic recipe is this. Wash the cherries and let all the water drain off on a sieve. Then you can roll them in a cloth towel to absorb the excess water. Or you can let them dry freely on the towel. Check whether any of the cherries are rotten and remove them if necessary. Place the healthy cherries into a plastic bag. Before sealing it, try to blow out all the air. This will ensure not only longer shelf life but also more space in the freezer.
Cherries frozen with sugar
Wash and dry the cherries in the same way as in the previous recipe. For 1 kg of cherries you will need 125 g of sugar. So weigh the cherries carefully. Then pit them. It’s a bit more demanding, but there are various tools on the market that make the job easier. Mix the pitted cherries with granulated sugar and put them into a bag or container.
Tips for pitting
You can also use many home methods – for example the method with a beer bottle. Drink the beer and place a cherry on the bottle neck. Hold it with one hand, and with the other hand push the pit out of it using a stick (for example a plastic straw). The pit will fall into the bottle and you can then use the pitted cherry. It will remain on the bottle neck.
