Tart Cherries: nutrition, preservation and recipes

SALT LAKE CITY — Tart cherries are a very common crop here in Utah. In fact Utah is the second largest producer of tart cherries in the country only second to Michigan. 

Tart cherries are known as the desert cherry, the one used in pies and cobbles. 

Santaquin cherry farmers are just finishing up the intense harvest season. Often the season includes a month of harvesting 24 hours a day. 

The benefits of tart cherries 

USU Extension Assistant Professor for Home and Community Cindy Jenkins, sat down with KSL Greenhouse to discuss the benefits of cherries and the best way to eat them. 

Jenkins said that there are three main benefits of the fruit. 

” They’re very nutritious good vitamin C and some other nutrients there. And then next up they are actually also anti-inflammatory high in antioxidants. And then because they have some of these great benefits to them they actually help with exercise recovery time. So if you were beginning to exercise drink your cherry juice,” said Jenkins. 

Preserving 

Jenkins said that tart cherries can be kept in the freezer for about six months before they lose quality. 

Tart cherries can also be canned like many other fruit. 

“If you’re doing a hot pack. It’s only 20 to 30 minutes for our altitude. If you’re doing a raw pack, you know, so those cherries are just not warmed up at all 35 minutes for pints or quarts,” said Jenkins. 

Cherries can also be dehydrated and make for a great snack. 

” I love it. They’re nice and tart. So they keep you away and with all those great health benefits there, you know, you’re eating something good for you,” said Jenkins. 

Not your mothers cherry pie

Jenkins tried out three different recipes to share, but wanted to try something other than your basic cherry pie. 

The first dish, surprisingly, was a savory dish. Jenkins made a chicken pesto pasta with added cherries on top. 

“When I bake I baked it in the oven so this was really exciting because I didn’t realize that the flavors together with pesto chicken and cherries would be so delicious,” said Jenkins. 

This dish can also be tried with the more traditional cherry tomatoes.

Jenkins also tested out a snack. 

She made an easy low key energy bite. Perfect when you don’t have a lot of time to prepare. 

The classic oats, peanut butter and chia seed, were paired with cherries from the freezer. 

And not to worry she did make a desert. Jenkins tried out a tart cherry crumble. 

Full recipes are up on the KSL Greenhouse Facebook page.