Dried Red Cherries

Dried cherries are small, round, bright red dried fruits with an eye-popping tartness that is achieved by picking and drying the naturally sour cherries at their sweetest, most ripe, moment. Dried cherries are a healthy, all-natural snack that adds a splash of ruby red color and a pop of flavor to any dish. Savor each bite and let the sour-sweet flavor of the cherry blossom on your tongue. Cherries are dried with limited processing and no sugar added. The stones/pits are removed so dried cherries can be enjoyed by the handful.

Mix dried cherries with oatmeal or granola for breakfast. Bake them into sweet breads, cakes, cookies, and muffins. Include them in salads alongside cranberries, orange slices, goat cheese, and walnuts. Or for warmer dishes, tart cherry make a wonderful flavor note in couscous or quinoa pilafs. For dessert serve chocolate covered cherries alone or over ice cream, pudding, or sweet cream pastries. The sweet cherry notes compliment some pie fillings such as rhubarb pie, pecan pie, and apple pie.

Like all dried fruit, dried cherries have a long and stable shelf life if stored in a cool dark place, preferably in an airtight container. For even longer preservation, dried fruit can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer.

Cherries are typically produced on Prunus Avium and Prunus Cerasus varieties of cherry trees, beautiful flowering fruit trees with small pale pink or cream colored flowers. Their cousins, the Cherry Blossom trees, are mostly ornamental and bred to have beautiful blossoms but not much fruit.