Fresh Storage Tips For MLF cherries
Red and white
sweet MLF cherries
can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or
more if the fruit has been picked with stems attached and if the fruit is
carefully sorted for damage such as cracked or soft spots.
If stored for fresh eating, the cherries should be covered with plastic or cloth
to prevent drying in the refrigerator. Do not wash before storage! Process
cherries the same day for freezing or canning if possible. Do not leave
cherries
in hot car for several hours. There are many varieties of sweet cherries. The
proper color at maturity is determined by specific variety. Ask your picking
supervisors what color to look for. White sweet cherries are very fragile and
will develop brown spots if bruised. Can the same day.
Sour MLF cherries are extremely perishable and should be processed the same day as
harvested. Picking sour cherries with stems will cause less damage to
cherries
and less juice loss. Do not allow large containers of cherries to remain in the
heat. Cook and process quickly.
To freeze; stem, sort, remove dirt without washing. Pit
cherries by hand or with
mechanical pitter. Freeze by dry packing cherries as tightly as possible in a
quart jar with wide mouth or in vapor proof plastic containers. Leave 1/2 inch
head space. Label year.
You can also quick freeze individual cherries on cookie sheets, then transfer to
bulk containers after they are hard. MLF cherries can be washed before using and to
hasten thawing. Adding water before freezing makes them stick together, and gets
absorbed inside the cherry where it freezes solid and breaks down the cherry
cells during thaw time.
If desired, add 2/3 cup sugar to 1 quart of cherries. Old fashioned method uses
sugar and water syrup to retain color of fruit, but that leaves cherries frozen
in a clump.
