How to Dry Cherries: 5 Ways

In good harvest years, several buckets of beautiful and appetizing berries are gathered from each cherry tree. A good hostess from them and brewed jam, and compotes canned, and dried.

How to choose a cherry for drying

Small cherries are not suitable for drying - after steaming the moisture, they will finally shrivel up, leaving the skin and very little pulp. And there is nothing to eat, and there is nothing to look at. Berries should be selected large, healthy, not damaged by insects, not rotten, without cracks and no spots. It's best if the berries are ripe and have a deep cherry color: they have the biggest amount of juice, resilient flesh and nutrients.

In addition, it's necessary to choose such varieties of cherries, in which the pit is as small as possible. Therefore, the oldest proven Russian varieties Shubinka, Vladimirskaya, Lyubskaya and Rastunya will be the most preferable for drying.

How to prepare berries for drying

You should pick berries for drying when they have long ripened and, as people say, have over-hanging: such a cherry has almost a black color, maybe it is even slightly wilted.

The harvested fruits should be sorted by removing the stalks and throwing away the berries that are spoiled, cracked, bumpy and underdeveloped. If the berries are not the same size, select the small ones in another bowl. Dry them separately from the big ones, as their drying time is different.

Then wash the cherries, put them in a colander and pour boiling water from a kettle. This kind of short-term blanching will make the skin softer, which will contribute to the faster drying of berries. You can add baking soda to the water - a teaspoon per 1 liter of liquid. After a hot "shower" quickly cool the cherries by pouring or pouring them into a bowl of cold water. At the end of the "water procedures" let the liquid drain off, and spread the fruit to dry on a towel or cotton cloth.

If you plan to use the berries for pies, cook soups, main courses or salads with them, dry the cherries without pips. They should be removed after all the water on the cherries, spread on a towel, has dried. The easiest way to do this is to use a special kitchen tool, some call it a cherry peeler, some call it a pitter remover. When there is no such, the pips are taken out with a pin. The berry is squeezed with the fingers of one hand, and the other picks up the seed and takes it out. Some housewives learned how to squeeze out the pips with a cocktail straw. But in any case, the manual method of removal is labor-intensive and takes a lot of time. In addition, you need to be prepared for the fact that the cherry juice will splash all around.

How to dry cherries at home

Each housewife chooses a way to dry cherries, depending on what appliances she has on hand. It should be borne in mind that the fastest way - a few minutes - to dry cherries in a microwave oven, but this method has a significant drawback: a lot of berries in it will not fit. The second fastest way to cook dried fruit is the air grill, but its volume is also limited - more than 1 kg of berries will not work.

The oven will cope with the task for 6-7 hours and will not require extra attention to the process.

In an electric dryer cherries are dried from 8 to 13 hours, and in this time the hostess can quietly go about her business.

The longest time cherries will reach the desired condition in the fresh air, in the sun. In terms of material costs, this is the cheapest way, because it does not require electricity costs at all. But at the same time and the most troublesome, as it is necessary to monitor the weather all the time and at the slightest hint of its deterioration to remove the cherries under the roof.

In the oven

You need to preheat the oven to 65 degrees. While it heats, place the prepared fresh cherries in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking parchment paper.

Put the tray with berries in the hot oven, but do not close the door tightly, so that the air can circulate without obstacles, and the moisture can freely escape. If the oven has a convection function, leaving the door open is not necessary.

After 2 hours, take out the tray, stir the cherries and put them back in the oven, reducing the temperature to 45 degrees. In this mode and bring the berries until ready.

In an electric dryer

If you procure cherries with pips in an electric dryer, there will be no problems: you only need to scatter the berries on the trays-stages of the electric dryer, install them and turn on the device for two hours, setting the temperature to 60-65 degrees. When the process is complete, swap the trays (lower the top trays down, lower trays up so that the cherries dry more evenly) and run the process again for 2 hours, but at a lower temperature: 35 to 40 degrees.

When the program is completed, swap the trays again and run the program for 2 hours, increasing the temperature to 60-65 degrees.

Finish the drying process at a temperature of 35-40 degrees. Cherries with pits will dry in about 8 hours. But this is a general recommendation, the exact time is individual and depends on the dryer model, the size of berries and the density of their pulp.

Pitted cherries are laid out in the same way - in one layer on the trays of the dryer. And dried the same way as berries with seeds - changing the temperature from high to low every two hours. But to dry such a cherry will take up to 13 hours.

But if you take seedless berries, you can make a real delicacy out of them if you want. To do this, fill the fresh cherries prepared for drying with sugar: 5-6 tablespoons per 1 kg of berries. Let them stand for 5-6 hours in the heat. Drain the juice with a colander and then use it to make compote or kissel.

Boil a very sweet syrup: for 1 liter of water - a glass of sugar. Turn off the heat and pour the cherries into the syrup. When it cools, the berries can be taken out, placed on the trays of the electric dryer and run the device. The mode of operation is similar, providing for a change of temperature every two hours.

In an aerogrill

Put foil or parchment paper on the grate of the aerogrill, so that the cherries will not fall through the cells, or set a special tray, but it would also be nice to cover it with paper, so that then less to wash.

Put the berries in a single layer. In one load is unlikely to fit more than 1 kg of fresh cherries. Secure the rack or tray inside the oven. Set the temperature no higher than 70 degrees, the timer for 60 minutes. Start the device, leaving the lid slightly ajar, for which purpose put under it a skewer, a matchstick or something similar. So the moisture will not be retained inside the aerogrill, it will have the opportunity to freely escape with the circulating air currents.

When the set program ends and the air grill stops working, set the timer to a temperature of 50-55 degrees and start the air grill again, this time for 45 minutes. After this time to assess whether the cherries dried. If necessary, run the device for another 15-20 minutes.

In the microwave

To dry cherries in the microwave, it will take the least time, but you need a certain knack, because the time of the end of the process will have to determine by experience.

It is necessary to prepare two cotton or linen napkins. Put one of them on a flat microwaveable plate and pour the prepared fresh berries on top in a single layer. On top of the plate with cherries cover the second napkin.

On the panel of the microwave, put the regulator on the power to 200 watts, time to start programmed for 5 minutes. When the microwave cycle stops, check the condition of the cherries. If the berries are not ready, turn it and set the timer for another half a minute, after which again assess the degree of drying of the product. You may need to turn on the microwave again - and again for 30 seconds. The final drying time depends on the model of the microwave, and on what kind of cherries are taken as a source material - with or without pips. In the second case, it will take a little longer.

In the sun

Cherries were dried in the sun back in the days when there were no electric dryers and air grills. This is the easiest but also the most time-consuming and troublesome method.

Cover trays, trays or baking trays with parchment paper. Place the cherries in a single layer on them, cover them with gauze to prevent flies from getting to them, and put them out in the sun. The place where you plan to dry the berries should be as far away from the road as possible and protected from dust. It is best if the sun's rays are not direct, but scattered - that is, it is a good idea to put trays under the branches of the cherry tree.

At the very beginning of drying it is necessary to take out the berries from the early morning, as soon as the dew descends, so that immediately for the first 24 hours the cherries received a portion of heat and wind to the maximum.

All days while the berries are drying, it is necessary to watch the weather carefully and at the slightest sign of beginning rain to take the trays into the house or under the shelter, where it will not be covered with drops. Every evening, it is also necessary to remove the trays indoors, you should not leave berries in the street even under sheds: the morning dew may descend on them.

The cherries on the trays should be stirred daily so that they dry out evenly on all sides. Usually the product with a seed dries in at least 4 days, without it - in 5 days. If at the end of this period the berries have not yet reached the right condition, the drying time should be extended.

How to determine if the product is ready

Ready to store, well-dried cherries will shrink to half their original size. The color of the berries will change - they will darken, become either dark maroon or even slightly brownish. They should not be hard, but pliable and pliable to bend.

To make sure the product is ready, you should squeeze the cherries with your fingers. If not a single drop of juice has escaped - you can put the berries in storage.

How to store dried cherries

Plastic containers and plastic bags are not suitable for the storage of dried cherries, in such a container, the product "does not breathe" and therefore quickly sweats and gets moldy.

To preserve the dried crop for a long time, it is best to use cotton bags, small paper bags, perforated cardboard boxes or glass jars with glass lids.

Cherries should be put away in places with the driest air - preferably the mezzanine under the ceiling or the top shelves of cabinets. It is important that there is no garlic and spicy herbs nearby - cherries are very quickly impregnated with these smells.

A place near heating radiators is not very good for storage - the berry becomes hard, unplastic and quickly loses its unique cherry flavor with a slight sourness.

Some housewives store dried cherries in the freezer, but it is hardly reasonable to take up space there, which can be used for freezing fresh, not dried berries and fruits. If you follow all the described simple rules, dried cherries will retain their nutritional value and useful substances for a year - until the next harvest. However, the container with the finished product should be opened from time to time, to inspect the contents and air it, so as not to get midge or fruit moth.

What are the benefits of dried cherries

Dried cherries are very tasty. Those who often use them as a snack, does so quite logically, because this product is concentrated all those useful substances that are in the fresh berries. So, 100 g of dried cherries contains 58% of the daily allowance of vitamin A and 33% of ascorbic acid.

1. Vitamin C is widely known as an immune booster and promoter of wound healing, as well as an antioxidant that prevents cell deterioration and a detoxifier that neutralizes and helps to eliminate toxins from the body.
2. Vitamin A also has antioxidant and immunomodulatory abilities, in addition, it is essential for normal vision, bones and teeth.
3. There are a number of other vitamins that are essential for humans. It is PP, which is involved in the process of maintaining normal blood sugar levels, reduces the amount of cholesterol in it, increases its fluidity and prevents the development of atherosclerosis.
4. Folic acid, or vitamin B9, is involved in the formation and development of systems and organs, so it is recommended to adolescents and especially - pregnant women, because it prevents abnormalities of the neural tube of the future child.
5. Pyridoxine, or vitamin B6, is very useful for the heart, nervous system, as well as to overcome depression, physical and emotional fatigue.
6. Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5, has a beneficial effect on the stomach, intestines and cardiovascular system, helps relieve inflammation in the body and fight stress.
7. Few other berries can compare to cherries in terms of the set of micro- and macronutrients. For example, it is a real record-breaker in the amount of potassium! And potassium is essential for a healthy heart, smooth functioning of the brain and nervous system.
8. Iron and copper contained in cherries help keep blood hemoglobin at normal levels and improve the body's defenses.
9. Fructose and sucrose, which are in considerable amounts in dry cherries, give a lot of energy, and thanks to the presence of pectin substances that control digestion, these sugars do not have a bad effect on body weight.
10. The anthocyanins in dried cherries help relieve joint and muscle pain. And the sourer the variety, the more anthocyanins. And thanks to their interaction with vitamin C, cherries have an anti-inflammatory effect.
11. Components such as calcium, zinc, and boron also work to improve the bone and muscle system. Because of their ability to strengthen the skeleton, dried cherries are recommended for athletes with high physical stress and teenagers - their bodies are growing rapidly, respectively, so is the active development of the bone system.
12. Due to the set of useful substances dried cherries exhibit bactericidal abilities and therefore can destroy streptococcus. In case of colds, it increases the immune system and relieves the dry cough. And with inflammation in the mouth - such as periodontal disease, gingivitis, stomatitis - resorption of dry berries has a healing effect.
13. Useful cherries and for the prevention of atherosclerosis and various neoplasms, so it would be a good idea to use it for the elderly. For elderly people, this berry will help normalize sleep, give strength and energy, improve vision and memory. In addition, we must not forget that the cherry slows down the aging of the body in general.
14. Pregnant women need dried cherries for several reasons - as a means of increasing hemoglobin, strengthening hair and nails, and also because it contains folic acid.
15. Dried cherries are useful for those who consider themselves inveterate smokers, but want to quit their friendship with cigarettes. Nicotine addiction is reduced by both snacks with cherries and compote made from these berries.
16. For women who have undergone surgery related to endometriosis and uterine myoma, dried fruit will help to recover faster and get better.
17. It is useful for hypertensives during periods of severe headaches due to an increase in blood pressure to eat dried cherries. This will help to slightly lower the pressure and relieve pain, but do not substitute the fruit for taking medications prescribed by the doctor.
18. Dried cherries have a relaxing and calming effect on the human body. In case of stressful situations, you should drink tea with the berry, it will help to fall asleep faster. This way you can quickly coax a child who does not sleep well. By the way, and often sick children as a prevention of colds and SARS is recommended more often to cook compote from dried cherries.

For all their usefulness these dried fruits are not suitable for everyone. Since they contain a lot of vitamin C (or ascorbic acid), they should not be used by people who have high acidity of gastric juice.

Those who have diabetes can eat dried cherries, but with caution, remembering that it contains a significant amount of fructose.

Well and do not forget that, although rare, but it happens and individual intolerance of cherries.

What can be cooked with dried cherries

Dried cherries will help make every dish - even the usual porridge - beautiful, delicious and almost festive. Just add a few berries - and any child will stop being cranky and refuse the traditional morning bowl of oatmeal.

Dried cherries are a great companion to other foods in salads, muffins and pies, in meat, fish and vegetable dishes. In addition, this berry is suitable for making beautiful, tasty and fragrant marmalade or jelly. And the legendary cherry tincture, which grandmothers used to make, is also good from dried cherries!

Tincture from dried cherries

For this tincture you will need dried cherries with pips.

1. It is necessary to pour the berries in a bottle for three quarters of the volume and fill the container to the top with vodka. It is better not to economize on the quality of alcohol.
2. Then you should put the bottle for no less than 30 days in a dark and cool place for infusion, but you should not forget about it: to make the process of mutual penetration of vodka and berries was more active, every day you should shake the bottle.
3. After a month, strain the tincture and pour the berries with vodka again. Insist now for 2 months.
4. After 8-9 weeks, strain the second portion of the tincture and mix it with the first portion. And again send it to a cool place for ripening, but without berries. The tasty alcoholic beverage will be ready not earlier than in six months.

It is not difficult to make nalewka, but you must be patient. But you will get a drink that our ancestors considered healing.

Drunken cherries

Dried cherries are delicious on their own, and with them, for example, you can drink tea in a snack. Or you can use it to make Drunken Cherry chocolates.

1. Soak a handful of dried seedless cherries in 250 ml of cognac, let them lie for a couple of hours - and soften, and fill up with alcohol.
2. After 2 hours, break 3 pieces of chocolate (it doesn't matter if they are dark or milk chocolate, as long as they don't add nuts, raisins, etc.) into a bowl.
3. Put the bowl in a water bath and while the chocolate is melting, prepare the candy molds. You can adapt for this baking molds or small cupcakes, but it is better to get a special silicone mold for chocolates - they are available in many online stores.
4. Put one cherry in each mold, pour them with warm flowing chocolate and put them in the refrigerator so that the candies solidify.

Pork with dried cherries

1. Prepare a mixture of 2 teaspoons of dill seeds, the same amount of salt, and pounded in a mortar peas of black pepper (half a teaspoon) and rub it on 1 kg of pork loin (if the meat is not one piece, but two or three, it marinates and roasts better). Put the pork in a bowl and put it in the fridge.
2. After an hour and a half, cut 7 stalks of shallots lengthwise and, heating 2 spoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan, put the meat and onions in it. Roast the pork on all sides for at least half an hour, turning and stirring the onions from time to time. Then take the meat out of the pan, put it on a wooden cutting board and cover with foil.
3. Pour 2.5 cups of red wine, stirring, bring to the boil and pour into a saucepan with a thickened bottom. Add to the wine a glass of pitted dried cherries, half a cup of sugar, and continue to boil for another 20-25 minutes. After this time, the liquid should reduce by about a quarter.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and use a blender to crush the wine and cherries and onions. You will have a wine-cherry sauce.
5. Slice the pork into portions about 1 cm thick and, when serving, pour hot wine-cherry sauce over each portion.

If you cut the pork into thin slices, you can make cones of cones, fasten them with rosemary stalks and put a spoonful of the cooled sauce inside each cone. In this case the pork will go as a cold appetizer.

Duck with dried cherry sauce

1. Rub the duck inside and outside with a mixture of a teaspoon of pepper, 2 teaspoons of salt and a good pinch of dried thyme, brush with crushed garlic (2 cloves), put a couple of whole cloves inside the carcass as well. Pierce the duck skin several times with a fork.
2. Put the carcass upside down on a deep baking tray and place in the oven for two and a half hours. In the oven set the temperature to 190 degrees.
3. The fat melted from the duck carefully, trying not to burn, every half an hour to collect from the baking tray.
4. At the same time to prepare the sauce. For it, fry in a pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil 300g of chicken giblets (liver is better). Put the giblets on a plate, and in a pan fry grated carrots (2 pieces) and chopped onions (2 heads).
5. When the vegetables are half cooked, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and fry a little more. Pour 1 liter of chicken broth into the pan, salt to taste and sprinkle a pinch of black pepper and cumin. When the contents of the pan comes to a boil, turn down the heat and stew under a lid for 40-45 minutes. You will get a half-finished product for the sauce. Strain it and set aside for the time being.
6. Take out of the oven ready duck and give it 20 minutes to rest and finish.
7. Heat up well a pan, pour into it 150 ml of port wine, and when it begins to boil, add the roasted giblets. Stew them in the port for a few minutes, pour the half-finished sauce and add a glass of dried cherries. Cook the sauce for about 3-4 minutes, then gently pour 2 tablespoons of cornstarch all over the sauce, stirring all the time so that no lumps form. When the sauce thickens, pour a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. That's it, the sauce is ready!
8. Cut the duck into portions and, serving, sprinkle each portion with the sauce and cherries.

Cheesecakes with cherries

1. Pour a little warm water over 70 grams of dried pitted cherries and raisins.
2. Meanwhile, start preparing the dough. Beat 500g of cottage cheese with one egg, 2 spoons of granulated sugar, a pinch of vanilla and a quarter teaspoon of salt until smooth. Add 100g of flour and knead the dough well.
3. Take the cherries and raisins out of the water, add 3-4 tablespoons of jam (any berry) to the fruit - you have the filling. Form the flat cakes of dough about 5-6 cm in diameter, put the filling on the middle of them, cover with the second cake and seal the edges, so that nothing leaks out.
4. Roll each cheesecake in breadcrumbs and fry on both sides to form a brown crust.

When serving you can put sour cream on top of cheesecakes, sprinkle with powdered sugar and put a cherry on top for beauty.

Ice cream with cherries

1. Soak a handful of dried pitted cherries for half an hour in a little warm water (or in syrup, taking 2-3 tablespoons of sugar per 200 ml of boiled water).
2. Take out of the syrup, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
3. Put the ice cream in glasses, garnish with powdered cherries and sprinkle with grated chocolate (milk or dark).

Cookies with cherries

1. Take 100g of butter out of the fridge and wait until it is soft. Mix in a bowl with 50g sugar and one egg. Add 200 g dried cherries and mix again.
2. Mix 100g flour and a teaspoon of baking powder in another bowl and add to the first mixture. From the resulting dough to make a ball, wrap it in cling film and send it to the fridge for an hour.
3. After the specified time, turn on the oven, setting the temperature to 180 degrees. While it heats up, put parchment paper on a baking tray. Tear off small pieces from the kolobok, roll them into balls and, slightly flattened, put them on paper.
4. Bake the cookies for 30 minutes.

Soup with Dried Cherries

There is even a recipe for dried cherry soup in the famous recipe book of the young housewife Elena Molokhovets.

1. Wash a glass of dried cherries, grind them in a mortar, pour 1 liter of water and boil, putting the zest of a quarter of a lemon. Now rub the cooked cherries through a sieve (although you don't have to do this).
2. A pan with pureed cherries and cherry broth put on fire. When it boils, with constant stirring pour a tablespoon of starch diluted in a glass of water, add 300 grams of sugar, half a stick of cinnamon and red wine (1 to 3 cups - to taste and desire).
3. Once the soup begins to boil again, turn off the heat.
4. When serving, pour the soup into serving plates with croutons at the bottom.