How to Pick The Best Cherries

I saw this info last night and thought it might be useful to some of you.  I never know how to pick perfect produce so this is helpful to me for sure.  Whole Foods has a nice deal on cherries– they are $1.99/lb 7/13 only.

If you want a few tips on how to select the best cherries:

• Check the stems — fresh cherries have green stems
• Give them a feel — cherries should be firm, no soft spots or bruising
• Look for the good color — depending on variety, ideally they should be deep, bright red to mahogany
• Give them the once over — fruit should be free of insect damage and pitting (little indentations caused by dehydration)
• Give them a taste — be sure the amount of sugar in the fruit is high

I don’t think I will be sampling the cherries at the grocery store but the other tips are good ones.

• If you find cherries without the stems, those are best to eat quickly because they won’t stay fresh as long.
• Usually the darker the color, the sweeter the cherry.
• And as for storage of cherries, the best bet is to store them unwashed in bags in the fridge.  Wash just before eating.  Cherries are best at room temp so you might let them sit out for a few minutes before eating.

Also just a reminder that cherries are not on the Dirty Dozen list for 2012.  If at all possible, it is best to buy organic because while these are not on the Dirty Dozen, they are pretty darn high in pesticide residue and listed at #14.

If you do get conventional cherries you might try this produce spray recipe to try and remove any pesticide residue. 

Source: Whole Foods

Picture Credit:  CJOlsen Cherries