What are?
What are canned cherries?
Syruped cherries are long-term foods that belong to the whole of the preserved fruit and fruit syrup subset.
The black cherries, like all fresh fruits, belong to the VI-VII fundamental group of foods - fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A and vitamin C. However, once processed for processing into "preserves" - washing, cutting, pitting, cooking and invasions in a sweet liquid - they no longer have the same nutritional characteristics as fresh fruit. Chemically speaking, they are richer in soluble / simple sugars but contain fewer thermolabile vitamins. This makes them very caloric and has a high glycemic-insulin load and index; they are therefore not very suitable for clinical nutrition, especially for overweight, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridemia. Note : to improve conservation, in the industrial environment they are enriched with antioxidant additives - especially vitamin C or ascorbic acid, like the many types of ascorbate.
The recipe for sour cherries is quite simple. The necessary steps for conservation are cooking and potting - with sterilization; taking for granted an adequate cooking, the most important step to obtain a perfect consistency in the long term is certainly the formulation of the syrup.
In the kitchen, cherries in syrup are mainly used as a dessert, sometimes accompanied by whipped cream and / or liqueurs and / or chocolate chips and / or biscuits - even crumbled. It is advisable to eat them away from the main meals, so as not to reach too high a glycemic load. They can be a snack or an ingredient in breakfast. There are several recipes that contain cherries in syrup, even if on average they are all excessively caloric to constitute an ordinary diet; a classic example is the "Spanish" flavor ice cream, but they are used for different cakes - especially cold ones - such as cheesecake - and spoon desserts - such as semifreddi.
Why syrup cherries?
The invention of syruping is due to the need to prolong the preservation of fresh fruits, excessively available in a limited period of time - that of maturation. Moreover, the fresh black cherries have a rather sour and bitter taste, which lends itself considerably to storage in syrup - which sugar compensates for the organoleptic characteristics of the food. For the same reason, the black cherries are also used for preservation "in spirit" - that is in a government liquid rich in ethyl alcohol.
Even jams and jellies can be made with black cherries; moreover, the cherries can be both candied and dehydrated. The production of jams and jams, however, represents the "last resort" of the over-ripe fruit, perhaps dented, marked by mold or vermin, and therefore unsuitable for the production of syrups. For the candied and dehydrated one, the matter is different, since it requires raw materials that are still intact and a higher expenditure of energy and resources.
The transformation of the cherries guarantees their availability throughout the winter period; on the other hand, the consumption of preserved fruit was more common in the past than in the present day. The intact products were mainly destined for syruping, while those dented, partially moldy, vermin or in any way to clean and clean, were turned into jam.
Nutritional Properties
Nutritional properties of sour cherries: fresh VS in syrup
Containing vitamin A - mainly retinol equivalents (RAE), or carotenoids - and vitamin C - ascorbic acid - the sour cherries are framed both in the VI and VII fundamental group of foods.
Raw and fresh, they have a moderate energy supply and an excellent percentage of water. Calories are provided mainly by soluble / simple sugars, or fructose monosaccharide; proteins - with a low biological value - and lipids are marginal. They contain a good amount of dietary fiber. Note : The presence of fructose - instead of glucose, sucrose or maltose - and fiber helps to define a medium-low entity glycemic-insulin index.
Instead, they are cholesterol free. No traces of lactose, gluten or histamine are detected. They have a low level of purines and phenylalanine amino acid. The amount of minerals, especially potassium, is satisfactory. As for vitamins, in addition to equivalent retinol - carotenoids - and vitamin C, the dose of folic acid is fair.
Cherries in syrup, on the other hand, have a much higher energy intake, more than twice as much as fresh raw ingredients. The extra calories are supplied by sugar - disaccharide sucrose or monosaccharides glucose and fructose - used for syrup. Proteins and lipids have even less relevance than fresh fruits. Not being peeled, the cherries in syrup contain the same dietary fiber; however, thanks to cooking, part of the latter undergoes partial hydrolysis, becoming more digestible and available to the intestinal bacterial flora - prebiotic function. However, cholesterol and lactose are absent; similarly, purines and phenylalanine appear in modest concentrations. With regard to histamine, it should be noted that, in general, preserved foods tend to develop higher concentrations than fresh ones. The mineral profile tends to decrease, due to the dilution in the governing liquid. The same applies to the vitamin concentration which, moreover, is drastically reduced following cooking. This is not true for retinol equivalents (RAE or provitamin A), but for ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and folic acid - both thermolabile.
Diet
Sour cherries in the diet
The increase in glycemic load, total calories and the glycemic-insulin index, make syruped cherries a food unsuitable for overweight, hyperglycemia or type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridemia. They are also not recommended for people who frequently suffer from tooth decay. The fiber intake is discreet and could help meet the daily dietary intake. The fibers are essential to decrease the glycemic index, to increase the sense of satiety and to modulate intestinal absorption. They also have a beneficial effect on the intestine, improving alvo and preventing or treating a series of disorders and even serious pathologies: constipation, diverticulosis and diverticulitis, inflammation of hemorrhoids, anal fissures and anal prolapse; a high fiber diet reduces the incidence of some colon cancers. Provitamin A and vitamin C are two powerful antioxidants; folic acid, on the other hand, plays a necessary role in the synthesis of nucleic acids, which is why it is necessary in pregnancy. It is however necessary to consider that, with cooking, the thermolabile molecules - ascorbic acid and folic acid - undergo an irreversible degradation. Note : the addition of antioxidant additives in commercial products compensates, at least in part, for the reduction of vitamin C.
It should be noted that the excess sugar in cherries in syrup still has a bad impact on the metabolism; moreover, especially for this reason, occasionally fairly small portions (50 g) must be eaten. For both these reasons, sour cherries cannot be considered a primary source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.
recipe
Recipe of cherries in syrup
Below we will briefly summarize how to prepare sour cherries in a simple and quick way.
Ingredients of cherries in syrup
- 900 g of sour cherries
- 300 g of granulated sugar
- 135-140 ml water
- protective antioxidants (eg vitamin C).
Tools for preparing sour cherries in syrup
Knife, cutting board, glass jars and lids, pots and lids, twists or cloths and pot holders, hob.
Process of sour cherries
- Wash glass jars and lids
- Sterilize them in boiling water inside a muffler or saucepan
- Boil water in another pot
- Wash the cherries
- Blanch the cherries in water for 5-10 "
- Drain and cool them in ice water
- Cut them in half and stone them
- Dip the cherries in the protector according to the instructions on the package
- Put sugar and water in another saucepan; bring to a boil
- Insert the cherries in the jars and cover with the syrup removing the air bubbles
- Place the lids on the jars without tightening them
- Put the jars back into the pot with the water for sterilizing the jars
- Bring to a boil and keep for 25-30 '
- Remove the jars from the hot water and tighten the lids
- Cool and check the vacuum seal.
Frequent errors in the preparation of sour cherries
Cherries in syrup become swollen and soggy or small and hard with preservation
If the cherries in syrup become swollen and soggy it is certainly the fault of the syrup, in particular of its osmotic power - called "strength". If too concentrated, the syrup tends to dehydrate the fruit making it hard; if too diluted it pushes the water inside the plant tissues making them swell. The ideal strength of the syrup should be around 20 ° Baumé - proportion of the sugar in bulk - or 145-145 / S (S = specific mass of the sugar). It is an equation that varies according to the osmotic power of the pulp used; it changes from one fruit to another, but the diversity is relevant only by changing the botanical species - for example by replacing the sour cherries with grapes without peel. For more details, please read our article: Fruits in Syrup.
The sour cherries are not kept and fermented
If the cherries in syrup are not kept and fermented, the fault can be of two factors:
- Insufficient cooking or sterilization ineffective: it consists in applying temperatures that are too low or suitable but for an insufficient time
- Impairment of the hermetic seal: generally caused by a defect in the gasket or the shape of the cap.
