Hmmmm! Smell that? It’s cherry blossom season here in Toronto. The trees in High Park are in full bloom and the sunshine and blue skies have made enjoying this fleeting segment of the year supremely enjoyable.
What is it about cherries that makes them so incredibly delicious fresh but - at least until recently – so cloying when used as a flavouring? And, even when they are fresh, cherries have traditionally been so outrageously expensive that it’s hard to enjoy them very often. The good news is that somehow flavourists have isolated the true flavour of cherry in a much purer, more enjoyable way than ever before and the result is a spate of new cherry flavoured products. Likewise, the recognition of cherries – especially sour cherries – as a super fruit has made them an increasingly popular fruit choice for companies that make fruity foods.
Here’s a sampling of just a few of the latest cherry and cherry flavoured products:
Drinks:
Food:
- RockHoppers Cherry Lozenges
- Cherry Raisinets
- Godiva Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Kashi Dark Chocolate and Cherry Granola Bars
- Delmonte Very Cherry Fruit Twists
- Dorset Granola with Berries and Cherries
See anything appealing on these lists? If so, what product would you splurge on if you felt like indulging in a cherry flavoured treat? I’m intrigued by the granola and – probably in error – I’m tempted to try the rum. Could it really be delicious if it contains aloe vera and cherry?
Sarah B. Hood wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 9:45 am
I’m so not the demographic for these antioxidant-fruit-flavoured spirits. Actually I honestly don’t think I’d buy any of these products. Now if you could find me a sour cherry tree to make jam with…
Barb wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 12:45 pm
I do like a can of Dr Pepper once in a while I must admit. It’s true that artificially flavoured anything can get cloying and I usually avoid them but I also know that they improve things all the time so I will likely try a few things once in a while.
Salanth wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 2:57 pm
They’ve improved the cherry flavour? Okay, I guess I will give them a try.
Cherry is my least favourite of the “red” flavours.
Dana McCauley wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 3:25 pm
Sarah, I’ve actually been seeing sour red cherries in the frozen fruit section lately. Definitely saw them at Longos and I think at Metro as well. You’d have to buy quite a few bags to make jam but I’ve made a couple of other things with them such as cherry upside down cake and a crisp. Yum!
Diva wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 5:18 pm
Right off the bat, I’m going with the rum. Big surprise. That said, I wasn’t prepared for the aloe bit when I saw it in the ad. Still, I’d try it.
I love fresh cherries, and dried, but have never been a big fan of cherry flavored things.
Charmian @Christie's Corner wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 6:55 pm
Godiva, of course. Dark chocolate always wins in my books.
Dana McCauley wrote:April 22, 2010 @ 10:38 pm
Love that I can count on Diva and Charmian to be consistent!