Good and Good For You -- Cherries

Everybody associates the color red with the month of February and that is why I've chosen to focus on red-colored Superfoods for the next couple of weeks. First up…

CHERRIES

Cherries have long since been associated with love and romance (let’s blame Shakespeare, shall we? “Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!”) which would explain why they are a popular item in February.  Kind of wacky considering that their prime growing season is actually June-Aug (we usually get New Zealand imports the rest of the year).

Based on cherry pits found in several Stone Age caves in Europe, they’ve been enjoyed as an eating treat for a long, LONG time. Cherries were also a favorite road trip snack for the conquering troops of Rome who carried them through Europe and England.

But cherries aren’t just a pretty face in the fruit crowd, they have been shown to possess a number of health benefits too, including some for your heart (and who doesn’t want a good heart).

Doesn’t matter if you serve them up fresh, frozen, dried or juiced, cherries got the health goods.

Ÿ Cherries in your diet can help lower body fat (especially belly fat), lower inflammation, and lower cholesterol, all of which are high risk factors associated with heart disease.
Ÿ They’re rich in antioxidants which is great on the anti-aging front.
Ÿ Cherries, especially tart ones, contain melatonin which has been found to be an aid in the anti-aging battle – it helps prevent memory loss, delay the aging process, and regulate your body’s natural sleep patterns (which includes overcoming jet lag!).
Ÿ They’re a good source of soluble fiber as well as being non-fat and sodium-free.
Ÿ Of the two types of cherries – sweet and sour – the sour ones are lower in calories and higher in both vitamin C and beta carotene than the sweet ones.

One of the best known types of sweet cherry is the Bing, a variety developed in 1875 by grower Seth Lewelling who named it for one of the Chinese workers in his orchard.

Good cherries should be large (1" or bigger), plump but hard, glossy and dark in color (for their particular variety). Avoid cherries with bruised or cut skin.

Cherries should be stored in the fridge, unwashed, and loosely packed in plastic bags (like they come in from the store) and should last up to a week. Just remember to wash them before eating them.

To freeze cherries, rinse and drain them and then spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place the sheet in the freezer overnight and once the cherries are frozen put them in a heavy weight plastic bag. They should keep for up to a year.