(Prunus sp.— Family Rosaceae)
Cherry
(* denotes sour cherries)
cerise (French), Kirsche (German), ciliegia (Italian), cereza (Spanish), cereja (Portuguese), kers (Dutch), kirsebaer (Danish), körshör (Swedish), kirsebaer (Norweigian), kirsikka/hapankirsikka* (Finnish), chereshnya/vishnya* (Russian), czeresnia/wisnia* (Polish), cseresznyepiros (Hungarian), cireasa/visina* (Romanian), cheresha/vishna* (Bulgarian), tresnja/visnja* (Serbo-Croat), kerasiá (Greek), kiraz/visne* (Turkish), dudevan (Hebrew), kurayz (Arabic), gilas (Persian), ying tao (Chinese), sakurambo/suminomizakura* (Japanese), buah céri (Indonesian)
Cherries are related to plums, peaches, apricots, and almonds, plus many others from this vast and versatile Rose family.
Cultivated cherries descended from two wild species, P. avium, the ancestor of the sweet varieties, and
P. cerasus, the parent of the sour types.
Both are native to western Asia. Some wild cherries, however, are poisonous.
The wild sweet cherry tree is a handsome one that grows higher than its cultivated descendents. Cherry trees in blossom are one of the great delights of spring and, eventually, form the prized fruit which hang in pairs from long stalks. The skin of these small round fruits can vary in colour from pale creamy-yellow to deep red to almost black. The firm juicy flesh can be either sweet or sour, depending on the variety.
The original wild sweet cherries were known as mazzards and were cultivated by the Chinese at least 3,000 years ago. Mazzards were also known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. The classical Greek name was ‘kerasos’, from which “cherry” is derived.
By the 1st century CE, Pliny the Elder recorded eight varieties under cultivation in Italy and that the fruit was grown as far away as Britain. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire, cultivation declined; and the fruit had to be reintroduced into England in the early 17th century. About the same time, colonists were taking the cherry to New England.
By 1640, two dozen named varieties were being grown in England, with the most in Kent, which has always been the principal cherry county. Parallel developments have taken place in France and Italy, the two main European producers, as well as in the US, especially California, Oregon, and Washington states.
The number of cultivated cherry varieties worldwide is now estimated to be about 900 for sweet and 300 for sour.
Cherries are a good source of Vitamins A and C and potassium, and sour cherries contain more Beta carotene than the sweet. They also contain pectin and anthocyanins, which are flavonoids linked to the prevention of cancer and heart disease. Cherries have also been effective in treating the symptoms of gout.
One study found cherry juice to be a potent antibacterial agent in the fight against tooth decay, showing that cherry juice could block up to 89% of the enzyme activity leading to plaque formation.
Some people, however, have shown an allergy toward cherries. Often these people are also allergic to almonds, peaches, apricots, and plums, as all belong to the same family.
The mahaleb or St. Lucy’s cherry (P. mahaleb)
is native to Asia Minor, but now grows throughout Europe. Its kernels provide a Turkish sweetmeat generally known as “crème de noyau“.
Other cherries include the Pitanga, the Physalis fruits (ground or winter cherry), Barbados cherry, the Cornelian cherry, and the chokecherry.
There are three main types of cherry: sweet, sour, and dual purpose. Maraschino cherries are entirely different, and a description follows.
Sweet cherries, and their very many hybrids, fall into two main groups:
Bigarreaus
have firm, crisp flesh and are best known by the variety called Napoleons. These are large pale yellow cherries tinged with light red. Their crisp fragrant flesh is slightly tart.
Another is the very popular Bing cherry,
which is a large, heart-shaped, deep red fruit with a superb flavour and widely grown in North America.
Other firm sweet cherries include the light red and yellow Royal Ann (White Napolean in Britain)
and the Black Schmidt. Lambert is a smaller heart-shaped, red cherry, closely resembling the Bing in taste and texture. Others include Van, Chapman, Larian, and Black Republic.
Geans/Guines
have soft juicy flesh and come in many colours. Black Tartarian
are deep purplish-black from the skin to the stone. Early rivers have dark purple skins and flesh with very small stones. They are also very fragrant and juicy. Ranier has golden skin with a pink blush and is quite sweet. The famous Swiss black cherry jam is made from intensely dark guines.
Sour cherries
are too tart to eat raw and must be cooked. Fresh sour cherries contains about six times the Vitamin A as fresh sweet cherries, but all fresh cherries are good sources of Vitamin C. Since many of the sour cherries are preserved, this is made easier with the advent of cherry pitters. Olive pitters work just as well and make pitting much easier with less waste.
The two main types of sour cherry are as follows:
Morello have dark juice. In France, morello cherries form a popular confectionary item known as griottes, which are a specialty of the Franche-Comté. Long-stalked griotte cherries are plentiful in the vicinity of Besançon, and also form the basis for a popular confection. The black Morello cherry is an essential for black cherry jam and dessert dishes.
Amarelle have a light, almost colourless juice. Montmorency is a famous variety and are bright red cherries with a sweet-sour flavour. They are the most popular sour cherry in Canada and have given their name to a range of dishes, which include the fruit, from duck to gâteau to ice creams. English cherries are small, bright orangey-red fruit with soft translucent flesh and mainly used for preserves.
See more under Other Cherries
