It’s been a bountiful year for sour cherries hereabouts, and I couldn’t help but notice that my neighbor’s cherry tree was still bursting with them despite being picked at by me, another neighbor, the owner neighbors and countless birds. So I picked some more—almost 2 pounds—after the tree owners said to pick as many as I wanted. This time, though, I didn’t have time to put them promptly into a pie. So I did the next best thing: I froze them.
By now I had perfected my paper-clip-pitting technique and made quick work of that task after I washed the cherries. (Note to potential cherry pitters: Wear an apron. Cherries are juicy, and the juice stains like crazy.) Then I placed the cherries on a large pan and placed them in the freezer.
Ready for the freezer
Frozen cherries and juice
Once frozen, I transferred the cherries to a freezer bag and sucked all the air I could out of it with a straw and the zipper closed around it (my low-tech alternative to a vacuum sealer). I placed that bag inside a second freezer bag. Now, they sit tantalizingly in my freezer. What will they be? Clafouti? Preserves? Hmm. I wonder what else I could make with sour cherries. Any suggestions?
An addendum, by the way. Don’t take my story as the last word (or even the first word) on freezing cherries. Some people swear by FruitFresh and other products to ward off browning. A little browning doesn’t bother me much (and really, there wasn’t much browning with these cherries when cooked or frozen right away). The extension service people also give directions for freezing with sugar or syrup, if you’re interested. I was interested in getting the job done, so I did it in the most expedient way for me.
Jennifer // Jul 2, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Alton Brown once used dry ice to freeze strawberries on Good Eats, saying that because it froze quicker, the ice crystals inside the berries would be smaller, thus making less mushy berries once they were thawed. I’ve never tried it, but am definitely considering it this summer.
Do you do any dehydrating Janet? That and preserving are two things I’d like to learn.
Janet Majure // Jul 3, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Oh, Jennifer, I’m far too lazy to go hunting for dry ice, but if it works for you, go for it!
I don’t do any dehydrating (although I’ll be writing about my mint-drying soon), but there are lots of resources on the web, as I’m sure you know.
In my book, anyway, “preserving” includes freezing, canning (including pickling and jams/jellies) and drying, so if you’re doing any of them, you’re preserving! Good luck with your learning. If you need suggestions for resources, let me know.
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Caryn // Jun 24, 2012 at 11:38 am
thanks for the tip on pitting cherries, that’s amazing and saved loads of time.
Janet Majure // Jun 25, 2012 at 8:17 am
Hi, Caryn. Glad it helped! — Janet