Currently in season

Cherries in the Thermomix®

We have matched 18 English Thermomix® recipes with cherries. Here is the season window, buying advice and the best MixMyDay recipe links.

Seasonal calendar by month

When are cherries in season?

Outdoor crop from June to mid August, sweet cherries earlier, sour cherries into September.

Outdoor crop: fresh European harvest. Protected crop: greenhouse or covered cultivation. Stored: European harvest kept in storage.

Buying and storing cherries

Cherries fall into two groups: sweet cherries (heart cherries with soft flesh, bigarreau cherries with firm flesh) and sour cherries (morello and amarelle types). You can spot freshness by the stalk: it should be green, smooth and sit firmly in place. The fruit should be plump and glossy, with no bruises or mushy patches. Cherries sold without their stalks lose moisture quickly and do not keep as long.

At room temperature cherries barely last a day. In the fridge, ideally kept on the stalk and loosely covered, firm bigarreau cherries hold for up to two weeks, while soft heart cherries last only one to two days. To freeze them, stone the cherries, spread them out on a tray in portions, pre freeze, then transfer to freezer bags. Stored like this they keep for twelve months.

Preparing cherries in the Thermomix®

The Thermomix® solves the most tiresome job of all: stoning. Put the cherries into the mixing bowl with a little lemon juice and run them for three minutes on reverse blade direction, speed 4. Then press everything through a sieve and the stones stay behind. Important: never go above speed 4, or the stones get chopped up too and the juice tastes bitter. Normal direction is also wrong and produces splinters. You then carry on and turn the stoned cherries into cherry jam, cherry syrup, compote or cherry liqueur.

For jam or compote, cook the stoned cherries with preserving sugar at 100°C on speed 1, with the measuring cup removed, until the set test on a cold plate succeeds.

The most common mistakes with cherries

Using too high a speed when stoning. Speed 5 or higher pulverises the stones along with the fruit. The juice tastes bitter and is unusable. Speed 4 on reverse blade direction is the upper limit.
Using overripe cherries. Fruit that is too soft turns to cherry pulp before the stones come free. The sweet spot is plump, ripe cherries that give a little when pressed but still hold their shape.
Buying cherries without stalks. Without their stalks cherries dry out quickly and start to go mouldy sooner. Always buy cherries with a green, firm stalk.

Complete list

All 18 Thermomix® recipes with cherries

Cherries as the main ingredient (7 recipes)

Cherries in more recipes (11 recipes)

Goes well with cherries

These seasonal ingredients are in season at the same time, ideal for combining:

Cherries in the monthly calendar:

FAQ

Good to know

What is the quickest way to stone cherries without a gadget?

Push the stone out from the stalk end using a sturdy drinking straw or the cap of a ballpoint pen. A knitting needle or a hairpin works too. Press over a glass so the stone drops down into it.

Can you freeze cherries with the stone in?

Yes, you can. With the stone in, though, they are only fit for cooking or preserving once thawed, as the flesh turns softer. It is better to stone them first, so the frozen fruit can be used straight away.

What is the difference between sweet and sour cherries when cooking?

Sour cherries (morellos) have more acidity and are better for jam, compote and liqueur, because they keep more of their own flavour when heated. Sweet cherries are ideal eaten fresh, but they lose their sweetness more quickly when cooked.

When are European cherries ripe?

Sweet cherries from European orchards start in early June, sour cherries from mid June through to mid August. Early varieties ripen as soon as late May, while late varieties carry on into August.

How many Thermomix® recipes with cherries are there?

There are currently 18 recipes in our collection. You will find them above, sorted by main ingredient and supporting ingredient.