Here's how to prepare them for the freezer

Are all sour cherries suitable for freezing?

No. Choose specimens that are as dark as possible and that are ripe but not overripe. It is ideal to prepare and freeze the sour cherries immediately after harvest.

Freezing sour cherries - step-by-step instructions

1. Wash and clean the sour cherries thoroughly, for example in a bucket filled with fresh, clear water.
2. Pour the cherries into a colander and drain them well. You can also help with kitchen paper. Then dab the fruit very carefully so as not to damage it. It is important that the cherries are completely dry before freezing.
3. Remove the stalks from the sour cherries.
4. If necessary, you can now core the cherries - but this step does not have to be mandatory. Several experts even recommend freezing the fruit and its stone to reduce the loss of juice. In addition, it is still possible to remove stones from the cherries later (when they are slightly thawed).
5. Spread the sour cherries on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. The fruits shouldn't touch. If you don't have a baking sheet that fits in the freezer, you can use very flat plates.
6. Slide the baking sheet or plates with the sour cherries into your freezer. This step is called shock freezing or shock freezing. As a result, the cherries do not freeze together, so they can be portioned individually and are still nice and crisp and fresh after thawing.
7. Let the cherries freeze on the highest level for one to two hours.
8. Take the sour cherries out of the freezer and portion them into freezer bags or cans. It is important not to overfill the containers - the fruits should be able to unfold. You also need to pull the air out of freezer bags, whether with a vacuum sealer or with your mouth.
9. Seal the bags or cans airtight.
10. Put the containers with the tart cherries in the freezer.

Note: When frozen, the sour cherries can be kept for up to ten months.

More detailed explanation of shock freezing

When freezing, the water contained in the sour cherries forms crystals. If you freeze the fruit slowly, these crystals will become larger and spread unfavorably, causing the cell walls which destroys the tender cherries and consequently affects the consistency as well as the precious vitamins destroyed. This can be prevented by shock freezing. It ensures that only very small crystals develop, which are distributed evenly outside and inside the cells. In this way, the sour cherries retain their crispness and most of their vitamins.

Thaw sour cherries properly - that's how it works

Place the frozen cherries on a cloth and slowly let them thaw in the air.