Cherries are one of the fruits that are not only delicious but also provide the body with great nutritional value. Cherries are divided into two types: sweet cherries and sour cherries. The following article will help you learn about sour cherries as well as their benefits.
Learn about sour cherries
This is a fruit with only one seed, similar to peaches, plums, apricots and almonds. Sour cherries can be eaten directly like other common fruits or can be used as an ingredient in fresh fruit and seed salads. In addition, sour cherries are also used in baking by drying and decorating to make the cake more attractive.
Sour cherries are bright red, have a more sour taste than regular cherries and have a pungent smell. However, tart cherries contain many nutritional values including protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K and many minerals necessary for the body such as magnesium, potassium and calcium. Not only that, tart cherries also contain many antioxidants such as beta-carotene and choline.
Sour cherries are bright red in color and have a more sour taste than regular cherries.
The amazing benefits of sour cherries
Sour cherries contain many great nutritional values, so they bring many great benefits both in terms of health and diverse applications.
Health benefits
Sour cherries contain many vitamins, minerals and powerful antioxidants, so they bring many health benefits such as:
- Boosting the immune system: Because sour cherries contain many antioxidants, they help the body increase its ability to fight damage at the cellular level. Some studies have shown that when the body is attacked by agents such as inflammation, dust or tobacco, supplementing sour cherries helps increase the ability to fight these bad agents.
- Health support for diabetic patients: Using sour cherry juice helps lose weight, lower blood sugar as well as lower blood pressure, supporting better health for people with diabetes.
- Support cardiovascular health: Sour cherries help strengthen the function of arteries and blood vessels, thereby effectively improving cardiovascular health, preventing the risk of myocardial infarction or stroke.
- Improve digestive health: Sour cherries contain fiber and water, which helps improve digestive health and prevent constipation. Fiber in sour cherries not only helps bowel movements work better but also has the ability to maintain weight and stabilize blood sugar in the body.
- Support better sleep: Sour cherries provide the body with melatonin – a hormone that regulates the sleep cycle. Melatonin hormone helps improve insomnia and helps ensure better sleep quality.
- Reduce the risk of cancer: Antioxidants in sour cherries have the ability to prevent the growth of free radicals into cells, help inhibit the growth of cancer cells and especially reduce tumor formation in the body.
Sour cherries offer many health benefits thanks to their excellent nutritional content.
As an ingredient
Thanks to their pleasant sour taste, tart cherries are widely used in both sweet and savory dishes, making them an attractive ingredient to add new flavors to dishes. In addition, with a low natural sugar content, tart cherries are also a key ingredient for keto-friendly desserts or snacks.
Sour cherries are also widely used in baking ingredients.
Some notes when using sour cherries
Sour cherries are considered to have many nutritional values along with great benefits for health and diverse applications in the food industry. However, to ensure health safety, you need to pay attention to some issues after using sour cherries such as:
- Wash thoroughly: You need to wash the surface of the sour cherry peel thoroughly to remove dirt as well as pesticides on the peel, avoiding poisoning.
- Preserve sour cherries properly: Sour cherries can spoil quickly if not preserved properly. In case you do not use them immediately, you should store them in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0-4 degrees Celsius, when you need to use them, take them out and leave them at room temperature for about 30 minutes to ensure the best flavor. Note that you should not wash them before storing them in the refrigerator.
- Do not eat sour cherry pits: Because cherry pits contain amygdalin compounds that can be converted into cyanide, this is a dangerous poison because it can cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting or more seriously, death if consumed in large amounts of cyanide.
- Do not use if you have an allergic reaction to sour cherries: In case you have allergic symptoms to sour cherries such as itching, rash, difficulty breathing, you should stop using and go to the nearest medical facility for timely treatment.
Although sour cherries have many health benefits, you also need to be careful when using this fruit.
Sour cherries not only have a unique flavor but they also bring many great benefits. Although sour cherries bring many health benefits, you should also note that you should not eat the seeds and do not use them if your body shows any allergic symptoms to sour cherries. Hopefully the above article helps you understand more about sour cherries as well as their great benefits.