Name: Sweet cherry (Prunus avium), the classic fresh-eating cherry. A genuinely distinct species from the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) — not the same fruit at a different ripeness, but a separate tree with a low-acid fruit bred for eating out of hand. Also called the wild cherry or gean.
Description
The sweet cherry is thought to descend from wild trees native to the area between the Caspian Sea and the Balkans, spreading from there across Europe in antiquity through both deliberate cultivation and birds scattering the seeds. It has since become the cherry most associated with fresh eating: low in acid compared with its tart cousin, with fruit ranging in colour from pale yellow through red to nearly black depending on variety.
Sweet cherry trees blossom early in spring and need a spell of winter cold to flower reliably. Their fruit is also the type most often preserved in maraschino liqueur, and the trees themselves are grown widely as ornamentals for their spring blossom, quite apart from any fruit they might set.
Main nutrition value
Per 100g, raw sweet cherries:
| Name | Average Amount | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Proximates | ||
| Water | 82.2 | g |
| Energy | 63 | kcal |
| Protein | 1.06 | g |
| Total lipid (fat) | 0.2 | g |
| Ash | 0.48 | g |
| Carbohydrate, by difference | 16 | g |
| Fiber, total dietary | 2.1 | g |
| Sugars, total | 12.8 | g |
| Sucrose | 0.15 | g |
| Glucose | 6.59 | g |
| Fructose | 5.37 | g |
| Starch | 0 | g |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium, Ca | 13 | mg |
| Iron, Fe | 0.36 | mg |
| Magnesium, Mg | 11 | mg |
| Phosphorus, P | 21 | mg |
| Potassium, K | 222 | mg |
| Sodium, Na | 0 | mg |
| Zinc, Zn | 0.07 | mg |
| Copper, Cu | 0.06 | mg |
| Manganese, Mn | 0.07 | mg |
| Selenium, Se | 0 | µg |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | 7 | mg |
| Thiamin | 0.027 | mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.033 | mg |
| Niacin | 0.154 | mg |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.199 | mg |
| Vitamin B-6 | 0.049 | mg |
| Folate, total | 4 | µg |
| Vitamin K | 2.1 | µg |
Sweet cherries offer a solid dose of potassium and fiber, plus vitamin C and a little iron. Most of their calories come from natural sugars, chiefly glucose and fructose, which is exactly what makes them so appealing eaten fresh.
How best to be consumed
Sweet cherries are at their best eaten fresh and chilled, straight off the stem, once fully ripe and deeply coloured. They also freeze well once pitted, making it easy to keep a supply beyond their short summer season for smoothies or baking.
Overconsumption could cause…
Eating a large bowlful at once can bring on a mild laxative effect or bloating, largely from the fiber and sorbitol-type sugars. As with all stone fruits, the pit and kernel contain cyanogenic compounds and should never be chewed or eaten — a real hazard particularly for young children who might swallow pits while eating quickly.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central — Cherries, sweet, raw (FDC ID 171719), 100g portion: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/171719/nutrients Encyclopaedia Britannica — Cherry: https://www.britannica.com/plant/cherry
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