Cherries Galore

The earliest varieties of sweet cherries have arrived!

Closely related to plums and peaches, cherries are packed with antioxidants and fiber. Introduced in California by Spanish missionaries, there are a thousand varieties of this luscious red fruit.

Growers and vendors usually group them into two main categories–sweet cherries and sour cherries. Sweet cherries are best eaten raw while sour cherries are good for pies, desserts, jams, preserves and cocktails.

Sweet cherries have short, overlapping seasons. Snatch these savory summer treats while they’re around.

Bing Cherries

Over at the Lim’s Farms stall, one of the most common and widely recognized cherry varieties was in abundance.

Bing cherries are known for their distinctive heart shape and deep red color, according to Alberto Badillo, an employee of the Bakersfield-based farm. Intensely sweet and flavorful, they are usually in season from May to early August, he said.

Badillo said that market-goers always ask for Bing cherries. “It’s a very popular variety and quite in demand,” he said.

Bing cherries are worth the wait. “They are sweeter later in the season,” Badillo said.

A 1.5-pound container was priced at $5.

Rainier Cherries

Distinctly yellow in color with a bit of red blush, Rainier cherries are one of the sweetest and tastiest cherries around, said Badillo. This variety is usually available from June to August, with June being its peak month, he said.

The result of a Bing and Van cherry cross breeding experiment in the 1950s, Rainier cherries are typically larger and more fragile than Bing cherries, he said.

Rainier cherries were retailing for $5 a 1.5-pound container, at the Lim’s Farms stall.

Several stalls away, the Exeter-based G Farms also had an abundance of the appealing cherries. They were also priced at $5 a container, according to farm employee Jesus Castellano.

Brooks Cherries

A Burlat and Rainer hybrid, Brooks cherries are known for their well-balanced sweetness and superior firmness, said Castellano. When fully ripe, this variety is often compared to Bing cherries in terms of quality and flavor, he said.

G Farms was selling this variety for $5 a container. “They’re worth it,” said Castellano, of this cherry variety that is reportedly bursting with tartness and juice. 

Buying and Storage Tips From G Farms:

1) Taste them if possible.

2) Do not buy more than what you can eat in a few days. Once they mature, the cherries can rot quickly.

3) Choose cherries without blemishes, cracks or splits.

4) Look for shiny, plump fruits with taut skins and supple green stems.

5) Store unwashed seven to 10 days in the refrigerator or nine to 12 months in the freezer.

The Agoura Farmers Market is open from 9 am to 2 pm every Sunday at 5835 Kanan Rd.