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How to freeze cherries?

2022-11-25T11:32:15.365Z


Want cherries all year round? Just store them by freezing them. Everything you need to know for optimal freezing.


Preparing cherries before freezing them

Cherry is a fruit that supports freezing well.

With its short season which extends from the end of May to around mid-July and its fragility which makes its production very dependent on bad weather, climate and the presence of pests, it is the ideal candidate for all types of conservation in the extreme cold.

To discover

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The secret is to sort and keep only the most beautiful fruits: exit all the stained cherries or those with a hole.

Then, they should be rinsed and dried thoroughly before putting them in the freezer.

The stems should only be removed at the very last moment, they are the ones that guarantee the freshness and optimal preservation of the fruit.

To use frozen cherries, beware of defrosting!

Indeed, one could be tempted to want to "do it quickly" by placing the cherries for example in the microwave oven, or in the traditional oven in "defrosting" mode... However, the fragility of the cherry, sip of juice, makes the delicate operation and the risk is to end up with an unsavory mash.

The ideal is therefore to arm yourself with patience by letting the fruits thaw at room temperature.

Once in the freezer, fresh cherries will keep for a maximum of 12 months.

Beyond that, they risk losing their flavor and suffering from the harmful effects of the cold, becoming difficult to work with once thawed.

Read alsoPractical: how to properly freeze and thaw your food

Freezing cherries: with or without pits?

When it comes to freezing cherries, there are two schools:

  • Removing the pits allows the cherries to be used immediately when they come out of the freezer in a very large number of preparations: pastries, compote, jam... On the other hand, pitting takes time and risks damaging the fruit.

  • Freezing cherries with their pits keeps the fruit intact, which retains its shape even after defrosting.

    On the other hand, it is more difficult, afterwards, to prepare any recipe with: pitting thawed cherries, therefore already weakened by their stay in the cold, does not allow them to be kept intact.

    In other words: they will be usable for coulis or jams, but not for making a presentable pie or a black forest worthy of the name!

In video, 5 tips and tricks to keep your fruits and vegetables fresh longer

In which container to freeze cherries?

Once the fruits are ready, it is possible to place them in bulk in a freezer bag, in an airtight box, which is often easier to store, or even start by freezing them on a plate, well separated from each other, then put them in the container, so that they do not stick together.

Otherwise, cherries also keep very well in the freezer with sugar.

In this case, it takes about 2 tablespoons of sugar for 1 kg of cherries, to be mixed directly in the chosen container.

Ideally, it is better to use pitted fruit to obtain, at the end, already sweet cherries, which will be immediately usable in preparations.

In the same way, cherries can also be frozen with a sugar syrup: in an airtight box or a glass jar that withstands low temperatures.

It is advisable to place the fruits there then to cover them with a cooled sugar syrup, a little like a preserve.

The advantage?

A sweet preparation that can be used directly after defrosting, to accompany cottage cheese for example.

Preserving with sugar allows the cherries to retain their flavor.

If they are frozen on their own, it is best to eat them quickly, in order to limit the drying out caused by the extreme cold, which will modify the texture and taste of the fruit.

Apart from pies which require the use of fresh fruit, it is possible to use cherries, once thawed, in all kinds of gourmet desserts: the classic clafoutis, but also crumble, coulis, sorbet...

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-11-25

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