Freeze-Dried Sour Cherries

Whole Iranian sour cherries, pitted and freeze-dried. In Persian they are albaloo, and they are a different fruit from the sweet cherry sold fresh — sharper, more acidic, and the one pastry has always wanted. A sour cherry has enough backbone to stand up to chocolate, sugar and cream instead of disappearing into them.

Frozen first, then vacuum-dried by sublimation, so the water leaves without heat ever touching the fruit. Nothing added: no sugar, no colouring, no preservative.

Why these look different from the strawberries

Put our Freeze-Dried Strawberries next to these and the cherries look wrinkled and dark where the strawberries look plump and matte. That is the fruit, not the process.

A strawberry is porous and thin-skinned, so vapour leaves easily and the berry holds its shape. A cherry has a tough, waxy, largely sealed skin and far more sugar in it, and both of those work against a perfectly plump result — the skin resists, the sugar softens the structure, and the surface draws in as the water goes. Every freeze-dried whole cherry on the market looks like this. A cherry that came out as smooth and round as a fresh one would have had something done to it.

Character

Sharply, cleanly tart, with a dark almost-fermented sweetness underneath and none of the syrupy quality that sugar-infused dried cherries have. Crisp, though noticeably denser in the mouth than the strawberries — a cherry has more sugar and more flesh, so it crunches rather than dissolving. Colour runs from bright red to near-black across a pack.

How to use

• With chocolate. The classic pairing, and freeze-dried is the form that makes it easy — no moisture means no risk of seizing, so they go straight into bars, bark, rochers and bonbon fillings without tempering trouble.
• With pistachio. A Persian combination as much as a European one. Sour cherry and pistachio together in a nougat, a financier or a biscotti is one of the better ideas in this catalogue.
• Blitzed to powder. A deep red powder with real acidity behind it — unusual, because most natural red colourings bring no flavour with them. Good in buttercream, macaron shells, glazes and white chocolate.
• Baking. Cookies, brownies, scones, panettone, stollen and Bakewell. Unlike a conventionally dried cherry, these will not pull water out of your crumb.
• Decoration. Whole or broken over entremets, cheesecakes and gelato.
• Rehydrated. A few minutes in warm water, kirsch, rum or red wine brings them back for clafoutis, compotes and fillings.

Working notes

Like all freeze-dried fruit, these take moisture out of the air fast — crisp to chewy inside a couple of hours on an open bench in this climate, with no way back. Seal the pack as soon as you have taken what you need.

One advantage over conventionally dried cherries worth knowing: because there is no water in these, they do not need soaking before they go into a batter, and they will not steal moisture from the crumb around them.

At a glance

• Form: Whole freeze-dried sour cherries, pitted
• Ingredients: 100% sour cherry. No sugar, colouring or preservative.
• Process: Freeze-dried — frozen, then vacuum-dried by sublimation
• Origin: Iran [CONFIRM]
• Available in: [CONFIRM — see sizing note]

Storage

Airtight and resealed immediately, in a cool dark cupboard. No refrigeration needed, and in humid conditions the fridge can work against you if condensation forms on the pack. A food-safe desiccant sachet in the container is worth the trouble here.

Questions

Why are these wrinkled when the strawberries are not?
Because a cherry has a tough sealed skin and much more sugar in it, both of which pull the surface in as the water leaves. It is characteristic of the fruit and normal in every freeze-dried whole cherry. The texture is still crisp; only the appearance differs.

Sour cherry or sweet cherry?
Sour. It is the variety Iranian growers are known for, and the one worth having in a kitchen — a sweet cherry loses its identity the moment sugar goes near it.

How is this different from ordinary dried cherries?
Dried cherries have their water pulled out with heat, which leaves them chewy and concentrates the sugar. These are dried without heat, so they stay crisp and stay tart. They also need no soaking before baking, where a dried cherry does.

Is there any sugar in these?
No. Dried sour cherries are very often sugar-infused to soften the acidity. These are not, which is the point of buying them.

Can I make powder from these?
Yes. A spice grinder gives a deep red powder in seconds. Grind as you need it rather than in advance.