When it comes to storing fruit, you have a few options depending on how fast your family can rotate it. You can store fruit in your freezer or in jars and cans, or freeze-dried or dehydrated for longer-term storage. It’s good to have a variety. My family is slow to use up canned fruits, but we use frozen fruits in homemade smoothies on a regular basis. I bake with dried and freeze-dried fruits so I store those for long-term storage. Any dried fruit I buy, I store in half-gallon glass jars that I seal with a vacuum sealer jar attachment. This will keep the fruit fresh and moist for years. Recently, I started storing dried cherries because I love them in oatmeal, baked goods and salads. They are delicious for snacking, and versatile in recipes. My favorite brand is Traverse Bay and I order them from Amazon.com. The quality is clearly superior to other brands when you try them (the Amazon reviews are confirmation) and they are soft and chewy. They’re often on sale, and I don’t think I can find a better price on dried cherries anywhere, let alone this quality.
Honestly, I didn’t think I’d like dried cherries…maybe that’s why I had never tried them. But your post made me want to try them. So I bought some from the bulk section of our local grocery store and I love them! Mmm!! Can I can these things?? Does dried fruit even keep very well? I can’t wait to bake with them.
Don’t know if you’ve tried Cherry Republic, but I find their product very good and they have excellent customer service.
can the traverse bay (4lb.) box of cherries be put in smaller zip up freezer bags, and if so how long will they last?
Yes, Marie, these cherries freeze fine. You can also store them in Mason jars and vacuum seal the lids. I believe either method will nearly double the lifespan on them compared to what’s shown on the box… at least that’s about how long mine have lasted.
Hi Kim,
When you seal the dry cherries and air seal them, do you refrigerate or freeze them? I’m wondering if this is necessary.
Regards,
Kath
I have actually just stored them on my pantry shelf after vacuum sealing. They last about a year that way with good quality results. This saves some space in my freezers.