Although the cherry tree’s unfortunate fate at the hands of little Georgie Washington is the stuff of American legend, cherries have been around for centuries and were probably first domesticated over two thousand years ago in southern Turkey or Greece. The Romans loved them, and they have been planted and consumed all over Europe for centuries.
The cherry varieties most available in the United States are sweet cherries—the popular, mahogany-skinned Bing cherry, the yellow-pink Rainier cherry, the dark red Lambert cherry, and the sweet Vans cherry—and sour cherries, most often used in pie fillings and other cooked desserts. Gaining in popularity are tart-sweet dried cherries.
Cherries are in season in midsummer and arrive at the market fully ripe. They are best handled gently, washed right before eating (when feasible—if not, wash and pat dry, then store in the refrigerator), and eaten as soon as possible. Choose plump, glossy berries with deep color and strong, intact stems. If you don’t plan to eat your cherries right away, store them in the refrigerator, as you would berries, unrinsed between layers of paper towels, then wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container. Rinse just before serving. Cherries are rich in quercetin and kaempferol (flavonols), plus other powerful antioxidants. Tart cherries may also have anti-inflammatory properties, making them possible allies in the fight against arthritis pain (the Cherry Marketing Institute suggests eating twenty tart cherries per day to reduce inflammatory pain).
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