Norwegian sweet cherries are nature’s best candy
August is the peak season for Norwegian sweet cherries.
Sweet cherries are mostly enjoyed au naturelle as nature’s best chocolate. Sweet cherries are bursting with delicious flavour with a delightful balance between sweetness and acidity.
Health benefits are large and you get on that with the purchase. Cherries are packed with dietary fiber and a good source of vitamins like A and C, as well as iron, phosphor and calcium.
The fine red colour of the peel and the flesh shows that cherries contain some antioxidants.
Sweet cherry is a stone fruit in the rose family. Sweet cherries and cherries are often intermixed, but cherries are really a term that includes two main groups: Sweet cherries, which in Norway are called Morello, and Sour Cherries, which we often denote simply as cherries. The name stems from the name of an ancient cherry variety from Chateau de Moreilles in France.
Morello originates originally from the Caucasus / Black Sea region. In Norway sweet cherries is been cultivated for centuries. Today the most sweet cherries are grown in Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, Buskerud and Vestfold.
Morello trees are best thriving in warm places. More and more are grown in plastic tunnels, but most of Norwegian production is still under the open sky using plastic roofs during maturing and harvesting. It is the varieties Lapins and Van that is grown the most, but eventually we will hear about Sweatheart and Sylvia to name some beautiful names of this candy.
The Chef’s best sweet cherry tips
Morello is very useful with its beautiful taste and beautiful appearance. Toril Gulbrandsen, Food Consultant at the Information Office for Fruit and Vegetables, recommends trying morello with cereals. Then you get a nice and colorful start to the day.
Toril also recommends using the sweet cherries in fresh green salads, preferably with the bbq and they are also delicious in cakes. Sweet cherries and chocolate is a wonderful taste combination that is worth trying.
Warm or hot sweet cherries with ice cream are a surefire winner, and morell jam with a well-ripened gorgonzola must be tested. Morell, of course, also belong in the seasonal fruit salad. There is a sea of opportunity, the chef enthusiastically rounds of.
© Opplysningskontoret for frukt og grønt / Norway Today
