Can You Freeze Cherries?

What happens when you freeze cherries

Cherries have firm flesh and thick skins, so they survive the freezer better than most soft fruit. Sweet cherries come back a little slumped but whole; sour cherries barely change, and the flavor concentrates. They are no substitute for a bowl of fresh ones — thawed cherries weep and go glossy — but for pie, clafoutis, compote, sauces for duck and pork, and cocktails, frozen is as good as fresh and a great deal cheaper out of season.

How to freeze it right

1. Rinse and dry them, then pit every one — a paper clip or a chopstick works if you don’t own a pitter.
2. Freeze them in a single layer on a lined tray so they don’t fuse into a block.
3. Bag the frozen cherries with the air pressed out.
4. Label sweet or sour and date it — fresh cherries only get 2–3 days in the fridge anyway.

Thawing and using it

Bake with them frozen; they release less juice that way and hold their shape in a pie. For sauces and compotes, tip them frozen into the pan. If a recipe needs them thawed, thaw them in the fridge over a bowl and keep the juice for syrup.

Can you refreeze it?

Fridge-thawed cherries can be refrozen safely, but the second thaw turns them to pulp. Simmer them into compote or pie filling first and freeze that.