Varieties and Types of Sweet Cherries
Bing, Brooks, Maraschino, Tulare, and Rainer Cherry
Aug 29, 2009
The cherry is a fruit of a single seed and they are in the same family as the peach. There are basically two classifications of cherries, the sweet cherry and the sour cherry. The sweet cherries are often eaten raw and used in sherbets and ice cream, whereas the sour cherry is more popular foe cooking. Turkey is the world leader in cherry production followed by the United States. Michigan produces over 60% of the total U.S. production.
Nutritional Value of Sweet Cherries
1 cup with pits, 138 grams
- The sweet cherry is fairly low in calories with 87
- Sweet Cherries have 0 grams of total fat.
- The sweet cherry has a good amount of dietary fiber with 3 grams.\
- Sweet cherries have virtually no cholesterol or sodium.
- Sweet cherries are high in sugar with 18 grams.
- The sweet cherry is not a good source of protein with about 1 gram
- Sweet cherries are high in Vitamin C with 16% of the daily value in a 2,000-calorie diet.
- Sweet cherries have an excellent balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids.
Sweet Cherry Varieties and Types
- Bing Cherry - is the most prolific cherry in North America. Bing cherries are very large and are firm, exceptionally sweet and have a deep red coloring.
- Rainer Cherry – is a very large cherry with yellow and red coloring. The Rainer has a very sweet flavor and the flesh is yellow and firm.
- Brooks Cherry – harvest comes earlier than most cherry varieties. It’s a firm cherry with a sweet taste with a bit of tart bite. They have a bright shiny red color with a bit of yellow.
- Tulare Cherry – Is very similar to the Bing cherry with a bit of a pink blush. They also harvest early, but not as early as the Brooks cherry.
Maraschino Cherry – Not a Cherry Variety
The maraschino cherry is a not a type or variety of cherries. They are actually sweet cherries that are first brined and then dyed a bright red or green color. The red maraschino cherries are typically soaked in a sweet syrup substance. Green maraschino cherries are typical soaked in a peppermint substance. The Rainer Cherry is popular for producing maraschino cherries.
Since maraschino cherries are soaked in a sugary substance, naturally the nutritional values are much different than normal raw sweet cherries. Maraschino cherries have a lot more calories and sugars than raw cherries. Also the amount of vitamin C is reduced to almost zero amounts.
There no doubt that raw sweet cherries are a good choice for a balanced healthy diet. The low calories, low sodium, low cholesterol and high dietary fiber and Vitamin C amounts is a plus for healthy snack. The fact that most children love the taste of sweet cherries is another plus in planning for a healthy family diet. In fact the only real negative in sweet cherries is the amount of sugar.
Sources:
nutritiondata.com
nwcheeries.com
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