Fresh at the Farmers' Market: Cherry Season is Short But Sweet

The Pleasant Hill farmers' market is glistening with an abundance of sweet red cherries, which are in season for only a short time ending in June.

There are around 500 varieties of cherry, with about a dozen kinds available at the farmers' market, according to the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association (PCFMA). The cost at local farmers' markets is usually between $3.50 and $4.25 per pound. 

So, how do you choose your cherries? PCFMA offers the following insight into the different kinds of cherry available at the farmers' market:

• Bing cherries are the leading commercial sweet cherry. They are firm, juicy, large, and a deep mahogany red when ripe. They have a distinctive heart shape. Bings are intensely sweet, with a vibrant flavor.
• Rainier cherries are yellow inside and out, with just a bit of red blush on them, and exceptionally large. They are quite sweet and very firm.
• Lambert cherries are large and firm with an even dark red color throughout. They are sweet enough to eat out of hand, but keep a good texture when cooked. They have a nice long season that runs from mid-June to early August.
• Burlat cherries are an early variety, arriving to the markets in May, and have a very sweet flavor. It is a large, firm, red meaty fruit of excellent quality.
• Brooks cherries are large, uniform, oblate, dark red fruit. Flesh is firm and crisp with variable shades of red and pink. The stone is nearly free.
• Van cherries are large, shiny, reddish black sweet cherry similar to Bing but firmer with good flavor. Good fresh, cooked, canned or frozen. An excellent pollinator for other sweet cherries