What are Dried Cherries? Types, Health Facts and Culinary Uses

A natural diet is the most effective and wise way of staying healthy and fit. Even if our modern lifestyle is often attacked by fast food and other related detrimental products, more and more people are beginning to rediscover the benefits of a natural nutrition.

What is the foundation of a healthy diet? From the ancient times, healers have described the curative properties of fruits, vegetables and cereals. Among them, cherries deserve a special attention, due to their many healing capacities as well as their delicious taste.

Summer is the season of fresh cherries. However, it’s not possible to enjoy the fresh taste of natural cherries grown in your own country all year long. That’s why frozen, canned and dried cherries were invented. They keep all the goodness of the natural product, allowing you to use them whenever you want for baking, stuffing, salads, sweets, juices and so on.

Let’s see now what types of dried cherries are available on the market and what are their main health and cooking benefits.

Cherries are a part of the Prunus genus, which also includes plums, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are two major types of cherries: sweet cherries and tart cherries (also called sour cherries, red cherries or pie cherries).  Rainier, Lambert and Bing cherries are sweet. Balaton, Morello, Early Richmond and Montmorency cherries are sour. Usually sweet cherries have a darker color and sour cherries are lighter, redder.

Most sweet dried cherries are made from the Bing variety. Tart cherries can also be dried, being a very important ingredient in desserts (pies, muffins, pancakes, puddings) and salads.

Aside from their wonderful taste, dried cherries are also renowned for their many health benefits. Being a good source of minerals and vitamins, they help us during the cold seasons by increasing our immunity. They are powerful antioxidants, being also very effective in fighting cardiovascular diseases, inflammation and gout, sleep disturbances and even jet lag. In my future posts I’ll write more about the nutritional value and the health benefits of dried cherries.

How can we eat dried cherries? First of all, they are delicious as snacks – you can eat them directly from the package by the handful! Then, you can put them in different kinds of salads – with chicken, vegetables or fruit. They also make a good addition to sauces, a good stuffing for meat courses and a yummy “cherry on the cake” for baking products, desserts and appetizers.

Don’t hesitate when it comes to taking good care of your health and well-being! Instead of spending lots of money on medication and doctors, learn how to maintain your health and prevent the appearance of diseases by exercising, eating natural products and drinking good filtered water. Fruits, vegetables and cereals are the most beneficial elements of our nutrition, providing our organism with all the necessary energy, vitamins and antioxidants, at the same time detoxifying our system and keeping it in good shape. Dried cherries are a very convenient product, allowing us to enjoy their natural value during all seasons.