BROWSE HOW TOs

How to Harvest and Store Sweet Cherries

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Rate: (3 Ratings)

Unlike their sour cousins, sweet cherries are meant for eating fresh and for looking stunning in a big white bowl on a table where you can grab them by the handful. Sweet cherries make a guilt-free snack: they're fat-free, low in calories, and rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene.

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Baskets
Plastic Bowls
Plastic Containers

Step1

Harvest sweet cherries when they reach the right size, color and taste for the variety - the timing varies - and when they come off the tree readily.

Step2

Twist cherry stems from the tree carefully to avoid damaging the fruits. Cherries don't keep well even with the best treatment, and bruised or cut ones go downhill fast.

Step3

Use sweet cherries immediately, if you can. If that's not possible, pack them loosely, preferably in a single layer, in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator. They should keep for two days or so.

Tips & Warnings

You can expect to get three bushels of sweet cherries from a vigorous, full-size tree and a single bushel from a dwarf variety.
Whether cherries keep longer with our without their stems is a point of contention among fruit lovers. Experiment and see which method works best for you.