The benefits of cherry
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What cherries do
What this vegetable does
Held to clear wind and damp and support how the Spleen and Stomach work.
How to eat it
Eat it as it is, or put it to use in jam and desserts.
A yakuzen note
Cherry is said to replenish the Spleen and Stomach and encourage the circulation of qi.
Cherry is a sweet fruit, warm in nature, held to clear excess damp and replenish how the Spleen and Stomach work while circulating qi. It is held to bring moisture to the body and suits daily care in early summer. As well as eating it as it is, it is easy to bring into jam and desserts: a fruit of fine colour to enjoy in its short season.
TOC
When cherries are in season, the varieties, and how to choose
If you want to bring in what cherries do, deliciously, knowing the season, the varieties and how to choose makes them easier to use. Glossy and red, with a balance of sweet and sour, they are the jewel-like fruit of early summer.
In season in early summer, with Yamagata the main producing area
The cherry is the fruit of the ouro, a relative of the flowering cherry, and comes into season in early summer. Open-field cherries are at their peak roughly June to July, and because they are in the shops for so short a time they are loved as a fruit that gives you the season. The main producing areas are Yamagata Prefecture, which grows more than anywhere in the country, along with Hokkaido and Yamanashi. Rain splits the fruit easily and they take a good deal of work to grow, so they are also grown under glass and under rain covers. In season, you can enjoy cherries at their best.
Sato Nishiki, Benishuho and American cherries
Cherries come in several varieties, differing in sweetness and colour.
| kinds | What stands out |
|---|---|
| Sato Nishiki | The leading Japanese variety. A refined sweetness balanced with a moderate acidity |
| Benishuho | Large with firm flesh. Strongly sweet and keeps well |
| American cherry | Imported, large and deep red. A deep sweetness that suits confectionery |
For a refined sweetness eaten as it is, Sato Nishiki and Benishuho; for depth in confectionery and jam, deep red American cherries: choose by use. Japanese varieties give a delicate sweet-sourness, imported ones a rich sweetness, so you can choose by the character you want.
How to choose and handle them
When choosing good cherries, these points make it easier to tell.
- Taut, glossy fruit, evenly and deeply coloured
- Thick stems, bright green and not wilted
- Few marks or dents, plump and large in the fruit
Cherries are very delicate and do not keep, so eating them soon after buying is best. Rinse them just before eating; over-chilling makes the sweetness hard to taste, so a light chill shortly before eating is what to aim for. If you cannot eat them all, keep them unwashed and enjoy them processed, so none goes to waste.
How to eat cherries
Cherries can be enjoyed as they are and in confectionery, drawing on their sweet-sourness and their charm. Here are the standard ways.
As they are, or as colour in confectionery
What brings out the most in a cherry is eating it as it is, not over-chilled. Its juicy sweet-sourness and glossy look are exactly right for an early summer dessert. On a cake, a tart, a jelly or yoghurt, they lift the colour at once. Clafoutis, the simple French bake where stoned cherries are set in the batter, puts them in the lead. Even a few alongside a packed lunch or a dish for guests bring the season with them.
As jam, compote or in syrup
Processing cherries is also worth doing, to enjoy the season for longer. Simmered with sugar into jam, or briefly in syrup as compote, they go with bread, yoghurt or ice cream. American cherries in particular, being deep in flavour, hold their taste when cooked and suit baking. Bottled in syrup, they can be topped up with soda as a drink or used to decorate a cake. Frozen, they make a sorbet or a smoothie for cooling down in hot weather.
How to keep cherries
Cherries are vulnerable to drying and heat and spoil easily. Put them in a bag or container so they do not dry out, keep them in the vegetable drawer of the fridge and eat them within two or three days. Long spells at low temperature cost them their taste, so do not over-chill them. If you cannot eat them soon, stone them without washing, put them in a freezer bag and freeze them, ready for sorbets, smoothies and baking. Made into jam or compote, they last longer still.
Alongside this, it is worth knowing about The benefits of jujube likewise held to replenish the Spleen and Stomach and nourish qi, and a warm fruit likewise in season in early summer, The benefits of peach as a guide when building a seasonal table.
The cherry, whose season in early summer is short, is a fruit whose sweet-sourness and charm you can enjoy as it is, as colour in confectionery, as jam and as compote. Refined Sato Nishiki, large Benishuho, deep American cherries: choosing by variety brings out what each has. For daily care in early summer, when you want to be kind to the Spleen and Stomach, bring cherries in while they are in season.
