(when you’ve picked more than you meant to!)
So, you’ve picked too many cherries, and you’re worried they’ll go bad before you can eat them all? We’ve all been there. Luckily, there are a few ways to solve that problem. In this post, I’ll give you all our tips on how to freeze cherries.
Remove the stem and gently wash the cherries.
Remove the pits. I know, for some, this is the worst part. We have some FABULOUS cherry pitters in the Cherry Hill Market, and we’ll let you test them so you can find the one you like best before you buy. If you get the right pitter, this is a great job for kids! (While it is tempting to skip this step, I’d recommend taking the time here. It’s significantly more time consuming to pit the cherries after they’ve been frozen.)
Remove any extra water from the cherries.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Roll the cherries onto the cookie sheet in a single layer. Let “Rollin’ down the river” ramble through your head, as it inevitably will. Cherries may be placed close together.
Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 24 hours.
Remove your cherries from the freezer and tumble them into a plastic zip lock freezer bag. If your freezer is anything like mine, I’d recommend labeling the bag with the fruit and the year.
Cherries can be stored in the freezer to up to a year.
Frozen cherries can be used in many ways. A few of our favorites are smoothies, ice cream toppings, syrup for pancakes and waffles or just eating them right out of the bag for a delicious snack!
How do you use your frozen cherries? Comment below to share your great ideas!
