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Sour cherries

Fruits · Stone fruit

Sour cherries

Bright red, tart cherries (morello, vişne) that shine in pies, preserves, syrups and savoury rice dishes.

Also called: morello cherries, tart cherries, pie cherries, amarena

Around the world: meggy (hu) · vişne (tr) · Sauerkirschen (de) · wiśnie (pl)

A kind of cherries

1 recipe with it

Photo: Nicubunu, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

Sour cherries are a different species from sweet cherries: smaller, softer, brighter red and too tart to enjoy raw in quantity. Cooking brings out their intense, almost almond-like flavour. They are sold fresh only briefly, so frozen, jarred, dried and syrup-preserved (amarena) forms are common.

Prunus cerasus

How it’s used

  • Baked into cherry pies and strudel
  • Cooked into Iranian albaloo polow (rice with sour cherries)
  • Made into Turkish vişne şerbeti syrup and preserves
  • Simmered into sauces for duck and lamb

Characteristics

Taste
Sharp, tart and fragrant.
Texture
Soft and very juicy.
Sold as
fresh, frozen, canned, dried
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for baking

Storage

Refrigerated. Fresh sour cherries are very perishable: refrigerate and use within a day or two, or pit and freeze.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Do not crush or eat the stones.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
50 kcal
Protein
1 g
Carbohydrate
12.18 g
Fat
0.3 g
Fibre
1.6 g
Sugars
8.49 g

USDA FoodData Central: Cherries, sour, red, raw.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Cherries — Add lemon juice and reduce sugar; less tart.

Related ingredients

Recipes with sour cherries

  • Overhead view of a cherry soup garnished with fresh cherries and hands holding a spoon on a table.

    Meggyleves

    Hungarian · 3 h 30 min · 255 kcal · Vegetarian

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