Eat Cherries

Cherries are some of the most delicious fruits around. Their sweet taste and snackable size have made them a favourite for many. In addition to their unique flavour, there are plenty of health benefits associated with eating cherries regularly, including lower risks of cancer and heart disease, and even getting better sleep. With that in mind, there's no reason why you shouldn't be making cherries a bigger part of your diet! Like the finest things in life however, there's an art to appreciating cherries. Focusing in on their sweet taste, relishing their juices, and savouring the tangy aftertaste are simple delights many people take for granted. Best of all, you can add them to most of your favourite recipes! The possibilities are virtually endless with this amazing fruit.

Steps

Enjoying Cherries on Their Own

1. Know your cherries. While most people think of cherries as a single type of small red fruit, there are many varieties of cherry, each with their own shape, size and use. Doing a little research (as well as knowing what you want cherries for) is a smart first move. Here are a few of the most popular types of cherry you should know about:
   • Bing cherries are arguably the best-known, archetypal cherry. They are red, and very versatile, great both for using in recipes and eating on their own.
   • Rainier cherries are large cherries with a yellow hue to them. When they're most ripe, they develop a more reddish colour.
   • Lapin cherries tend to be dark red and quite big. They're perfect for making jams with.
2. Buy your cherries, preferably handpicked. Although there are canned and packaged options, you'll want to get cherries fresh whenever possible. Hand-picking them is the best option, as it gives you the most control over which ones to buy. Go to a local and trusted produce store, and buy a bagful.
   • As a rule, if you're getting the popular red Bing cherries, you should look for the darkest cherries of the lot. Darker cherries are riper, and have a sweeter kick to them. Lighter cherries are generally more sour, and better suited for baking rather than eating them by themselves.
3. Wash your cherries off in hot water. Giving your cherries a good wash at home will remove any remaining pesticides, making them safer to eat. This rule applies to all uncanned produce, so make sure to give it all a rinse before you move forward! Putting them under the faucet for around 30 seconds should suffice.
   • Try to avoid washing your cherries prior to storing. Adding moisture will dry them out and hurt their taste, so it's better to wash them right before eating.
4. Pit your cherries. The most complex and unique aspect of eating cherries is the pitting process. While removing the pit from a cherry isn't necessary, leaving them in means you'll have to spit the pit out afterward, as eating them is mildly toxic. Its easy to eat around the pits of fruit like peaches, but a cherry is so small that it should be removed manually. There are several ways to do this, and it's recommended you try out most of them to see which one suits you best.
   • The best option if you're going to be eating a lot of cherries is a specialized cherry pitter. These simple contraptions are usually reasonably priced, and can make the pitting process several times faster than they would be if you're doing them by hand.
   • If you're not interested in picking up a pitter, you can get a steady momentum going by using a chopstick and a glass bottle. Place the cherry on top of the bottle with the stem on top, and push the chopstick through the cherry. The pit should fall through into the bottle, eliminating any cleanup from other methods.
   • If you're looking for an easy, basic solution to pitting, take a knife and cut around the edge of the stem. Once you've cut around, you can pull the pit out. This process takes significantly longer than the other methods listed, but it'll do in a pinch if you don't have a lot of utensils around.
   • If you're wanting to circumvent the pitting process altogether, you can always purchase a pack of pitted cherries. Keep in mind, however, that these tend to be less fresh than if you were hand-picking them yourself.
5. Find somewhere quiet and relaxing to enjoy your cherries. Arguably the most overlooked part of the way someone eats is where they're eating. Trying to eat somewhere busy and crowded isn't going to lend itself to a memorable snacking experience. Find something where you don't have to worry about anything distracting you from your cherries.
   • You might find it beneficial to add an element of ritual to your cherry-eating. Even if it's just finding a favourite chair to sit in each time you eat them, treating the experience with an air of importance might enrich your experience.
6. Savour the cherry. It goes without saying that the most important part of enjoying cherries is eating them! The key here is to draw out the experience of eating it; let the cherry sit on your tongue, and let yourself focus on the taste as you bit down into it. Close your eyes, and let your taste buds appreciate each cherry for all they're worth!
   • Savouring food is a lost art in the current age of expedience and efficiency. If you're having a hard time pacing yourself while you eat, try to give yourself approximately 45 seconds for each cherry.
7. Freeze whatever portions you won't eat soon. It's important to note that cherries are very perishable. In a refrigerator, they might last a week if you're lucky! If you want to save yourself the trouble of constantly going back to the grocery store, you can freeze them in bulk. Bring them out and let them thaw a few hours before you plan on eating them.
   • Frozen cherries are best eaten within a year, although judging from how delicious they are, it's not likely you'll have them sitting around a fraction of that time!

Using Cherries in Recipes

1. Research some recipes. If you're new to using cherries in your cooking, it's definitely recommended to look online for some standard options. Most often, cherries are used in dessert dishes for their sweet taste. For certain recipes (particularly baking) you'll want lighter-tinted, sour cherries. If you're adding them as an accent, as you would atop a sundae, you'll want them dark and sweet. You don't have to make up your mind right away, but it's a good idea to have some vague idea what you'd like to make with your cherries.
2. Prepare cherries as though you were going to eat them on their own. This includes washing and pitting them. Remembering to do this is arguably even more important when you're using them in a recipe; if you cherries in a pie, for example, without first pitting them, the entire pie will end up being ruined!
3. Bake them in a pie. The most famous use of cherries in cooking is arguably in pies. Cherry pie is a staple dish in many cafes, and for good reason! You can add cherries into your pie whole if you want, or you can mash them into a thick paste so they're able to disperse more evenly. You can even try baking with cherry jam! There are lots of possibilities when it comes to baking; look up some solid recipes, and you'll end up with a delicious summertime treat.
4. Add them to salads. An even simpler way of adding cherries is through salads. Salads tend to be inclusive of all sorts of fruits and vegetables. You won't need too many cherries to accent your salad-- just a few will give a tangy kick to your meal you won't soon forget.
5. Accent an ice cream sundae with a cherry! In many ways, an ice cream sundae is the ultimate dessert. It can be made even better by adding a cherry atop some whipped cream. While it will taste great, adding cherries as accents has the extra benefit of boasting some visual panache as well. It's an easy way to give your home concoctions the look of fine dining.
   • For sundaes, you'll want to get sweeter, darker cherries. The sour taste of light cherries doesn't compliment ice cream nearly as well.
6. Make Cherry Jam Jam is one of the most versatile creations you can make from fruit. The sweetness in cherries makes them perfect for making jams with. Pit your cherries, pick off the stems, and finely chop them up. Next, add some sugar and pectin, and mix them together until they make an even paste. Next, boil it together. Look up some special recipes, and you'll have your own homemade jam in no time at all.
   • Cherry jam is best served on bread, but it's also great in pies and on ice cream.

Tips

• Due to their small size, cherries are perfect for taking along with you when you're out. Store a handful in a bag, and bring them out whenever you're feeling hungry.

Warnings

• Cherries are delicious, but they can also be a mess as well. Their juice is known to stain clothing, so take care whenever you're eating them.
• Some people find pit-spitting rude, so keep your company in mind if you decide to go this route. Ask them whether it's okay if you're uncertain.
• Cherries are known to potentially cause bad diarrhea if you eat enough of them, so make sure you stay close to a toilet if you're planning on eating a lot of them.
• Cherries also cause mild stomach aches when eaten in excess While it may be difficult to limit yourself, keeping your eating in check will limit the risk of an upset later on.

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