Easy Cherry Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can I use canned cherries instead of fresh? ›

If you are substituting canned cherries for fresh, you may need to drain or rinse off the syrup before proceeding. Dried cherries, usually made from sour cherries, are called for in recipes for cookies, savory, cold weather meaty dishes, and fall and winter salads.

For every 2 cups of dried cherries (any variety) use 1 cup of water. Combine water and cherries into a saucepan. Bring your water to a boil, then turn the heat to a simmer. Let cherries simmer (stirring constantly) for 10 to 15 minutes (or until plump).

Cherry pitters (which often double as olive pitters) save some time but don't really solve the problems of bruised fruit and lost juice. Resourceful cooks in cherry-rich France, Italy and Eastern Europe have come up with a smart and simple solution: They leave the pits in.

These world-famous gourmet co*cktail cherries are also available in 400-g (approximately 50-55 cherries) or 6.6-lb cans (approximately 480 cherries).

Canned sweet cherries are delicious right out of the jar, especially if you eat them as my family does with the pit intact. If you decide to pit them before canning, the recipes are endless.

Another study from 2018 of eight participants over 50 years old with chronic insomnia found that those who drank about 1 cup (240 milliliters) of tart cherry juice in the morning and another cup one to two hours before bed for two weeks saw their sleep time increase by 84 minutes.

If you love cherries, you can use dried cherries in place of fresh ones.

Quick Method (using water and cherries): For every 2 cups of dried cherries (any variety) use 1 cup of water. Combine water and cherries into a saucepan. Bring your water to a boil, then turn the heat to a simmer.

If you eat more cherries than that recommended dose, there are some potential downsides, adds Blatner: GI distress. "Cherries contain fiber, fructose and sorbitol, which in large amount can cause issues such as gas, bloating, stomach pain, and diarrhea," says Blatner.

Is it OK to freeze fresh cherries? ›

Cherries will last in the freezer for around 6 months but will be fine up to a year when properly frozen. This means you can enjoy the sweet taste of cherries year-round, even when the cherry season is over.

To start, stick to one serving (1/2 cup or about 7 cherries, depending on their size), see how your gut reacts, and go from there. Take the time to measure them out, so you're not tempted to keep popping them in your mouth—otherwise, you may risk your insides retaliating.

If you're baking a recipe that calls for more than six cherries, we whole-heartedly recommend a cherry pitter. It's worth it: They're like little guns that toss the pits into a bowl and toss your still intact, hollowed-out cherries in another. They may cause cherry juice splatter, but it washes off easily.

Cherry juice is not only refreshingly delicious, but it provides some solid health benefits, too. With about 120 calories per 1-cup serving, it's rich in nutrients like potassium and iron. There are many different varieties of cherry juice. Look for juices that use 100-percent cherry juice with no added sweeteners.

According to the USDA's Dietary Guidelines, adults should eat at least 2 servings of fruit each day. And canned fruit can absolutely be just as healthy (if not more) than its fresh counterpart.

Even whole, pitted cherries from a can often sit in dye-tinted heavy syrup, which can taste artificial and saccharine. For many bakers, frozen fruit is the ideal option for baking.

The frozen ones are just like fresh, only softer and they drip their juice out - but that's OK when you are going to bake them anyway. Canned cherry pie filling is sweetened and spiced, so it is going to taste the way the canner made it, not like homemade.

When it comes to baking or cooking with cherries, dark-sweet cherries should always be your go-to. While there are some recipes out there that call for Rainier (or white-flesh) cherries, they are usually better when eaten fresh out of hand or sliced and added into a salad or drink.