Kinds of cherries are there

Their season lasts through the summer, although since tart cherries don't travel well, they can be hard to find outside Michigan where they are almost exclusively grown. This family of juicy, sour cherries with dark red skins are a pie baker's best friend, which is why some people simply call them "pie cherries.

Their season is short, usually confined to the month of July and are uncommon in grocery stores. Look for fruit that is plump, naturally shiny, and free of cracks and blemishes. If the stems are still attached, they should be supple instead of stick-like. Fresh cherries taste best when stored at room temperature, but for longer keeping, place them in a bowl or ventilated bag in the refrigerator, where they should last for several days.

This can be a bit of a chore when preparing enough for a big recipe. Cherry pitters work well. They come in hand-held models that pit one cherry at a time and larger models that resemble a bowl with a crank that can handle larger batches a bit more quickly and easily.

In lieu of a pitter, some people turn to other tools they might have on hand, such as a sturdy drinking straw. Starting on the stem end, push the straw through the cherry to push out the pit. Another option is to bend a paper clip into an S shape and then insert one end into the stem end of the cherry to hook and pull out the pit. And yet another option is to lightly crush the cherry with the side of a chef's knife to loosen the pit enough to be able to pick it out.

By Sheri Castle June 15, Save FB Tweet More. Bing Cherries. Credit: Getty Images. Now onto the sour cherries. Whether it be dried, frozen, canned or fresh, Montmorency can be enjoyed year-round. As a result, this type of cherry is versatile in smoothies, trail mixes, and pastries.

But there's no justice in stopping there when apple and cherry crisps are calling your name. Plus, it boasts benefits of pain relief and muscle recovery. Talk about doing the most. The cherry to top all the others: Morello. There's a reason they're nicknamed the "pie cherries" — they're meant to be jammed into a latticed pie and whipped up warm for Thanksgiving dinners. Since Morello cherries lack the dry sweetness of cherries such as the Bing, more sugar and starch will be needed to provide the right consistency.

The things you do for the love of cherry pie. While not an exhaustive list, these options will ease you into the colorful world of nutrient-rich juiciness.

Proving they're more than an emoji, cherries have a well-roundedness that's sure to keep you tongue-tied. Coffee Tea Perfect for when you're Too Sober See All Drinks. For example, most dark red cherries are also sweet to taste with an overall good flavor, and many red cherries can be tart. Dark red cherries tend to be sweet-tasting and incredibly juicy.

These delicious fruits can be eaten as fresh cherries after washing, or can be used in any dish to add sweetness and fruitiness to it. Some dark red cherry varieties include the Attika cherry, the Chelan cherry, the Bing cherry, the Benton cherry, the Santina cherry, the Tieton cherry, the Skeena cherry, the Cowiche cherry, the Regina cherry, the Lapins cherry, the Kiona cherry, the Selah cherry, and the sweetheart cherry variety, among others.

When most people imagine or draw cherries, they think of them as being red in color. A few red cherry varieties include the Lambert cherry, the Montmorency cherry, and the Morella cherry. Many of these cherry types are tart or even sour in flavor, making them ideal for use in sweets and baked goods, like cherry pie. The more tart cherry varieties are also often pressed into cherry juice or made into dried cherries for use in cooking.

As stated previously, sour, or tart, cherries are the cherry type most often pressed into cherry juice or made into dried cherries for use in cooking. Some types of sour cherries include the aptly named Montmorency tart cherry and the Morello cherry, though the Montmorency tart cherry is the more popular cherry variety of the two listed here. As stated previously in this article, the majority of dark red cherries tend to also have a sweet flavor.

A few other cherry types tend to have a sweet flavor, as well. Both these types of cherries are yellow in color, with a pink or red blush.

We discussed two types of yellow cherries above: the Rainier cherry and the stardust cherry. Both of these cherry varieties are sweet, and have a pink or red blush to their skin.

Another yellow cherry variety is called the Early Robin cherry. This is a benefit to anyone buying cherries, as they can see which have been damaged and which are in better shape. The Attika cherry originated in the Czech Republic and eventually made its way into the U.

These cherry trees typically bear fruit that is ready for harvesting in the mid- to late season. Attika cherry trees can be grown in zones five through seven. Attika cherry fruit are dark red and taste sweet, with a crunchy and firm texture. The fruits of the Attika cherry tree are large, long, and heart-shaped. These fruits are also durable, making them ideal for transport across long distances. The Benton cherry tree is one of the few cherry tree varieties that is self-pollinating.

This is a hearty type of cherry tree that was developed at Washington State University. A Benton cherry tree requires full sunlight to flourish, blossom and bear fruit. Benton cherry fruits are a beautiful shade of red and are medium to large in size. They bloom late in the cherry season and have a wonderful and sweet flavor. Benton cherries are also firm and have a great aftertaste. If you encounter great-tasting cherries in a grocery store, they are liable to be this type of cherry.

Bing cherries pack a lot of punch in their small size; the darker they are, the riper they are. Bing cherries are not a sour cherry type, and eating them regularly has been known to cut the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure in human adults.

Moreover, you can find many different recipes that use this type of cherry, and all of them promise to be delicious. Chelan cherries taste mild and sweet, and they ripen in mid-June, making them blossom and ready to harvest around two weeks sooner than the popular Bing cherry variety, and one of the earliest cherry types overall to be ready for harvesting.

They are made up of almost 20 percent sugar and, therefore, have a wonderful flavor, making them perfect for a variety of dishes.