Sour cherries for fresh consumption

Abstract

The previous use of sour cherry is determined by their distribution and their fruit characteristics. The sour cherry growing in Europe is mainly limited to eastern, southeastern and central Europe. Because of the high acid and the low sugar contents as well as the small fruit size of the most cultivated varieties, the sour cherry is mainly used in fruit processing. In result of the breeding progress in recent decades new sour cherry cultivars have been developed with a balanced sugar-acid ratio. Additional some of these cultivars show an increased fruit size and good fruit firmness. Sour cherries with these fruit characteristics will be a very good option for the fresh market in the future. As first experiences show, the sour cherry can successfully enrich the fresh fruit assortment in the summer time.