Preserving: Freezing Cherries

No, I didn't plant a cherry tree up on the bluff. Even if I did, I'm not sure the birds and critters would leave any for me. I got a bag of Canadian grown cherries at the store and have been enjoying the big, juicy, red treats. The package didn't say what kind, but to me they looked like Bing cherries.

Whatever the case, these were the biggest, juiciest, tastiest cherries I think I've ever had. And they have lasted. So much so that I hated to throw the last few away now that we had to leave for the States. I went online to see how to freeze cherries. And it is so easy.

The hardest thing to decide whether to freeze them whole, or cut and pit the cherries. Freezing cherries with the pits in is obviously the easiest, but if they are going to remain frozen for more than a few weeks the fruit may absorb some of the nutty flavour from the pit. Since mine will probably stay frozen for several months, I decided to remove the pits.

I don't have a cherry pitter, so I cut each cherry in half and removed the seed. I placed the cherry halves on a metal pie plate and placed it in the freezer. Once frozen, they went into a zip seal plastic bag with as much air removed as possible. Then when I return in the fall, we'll have some cherries to enjoy on our ice cream. As they say, "Waste not, want not!" -- Margy