Cherry

Prunus spp.

fruit

A red stone fruit, descended from the wild cherry and the sour cherry: soft, juicy gean cherries, and firm, sweet bigarreaus such as the Burlat. It provides anthocyanins.

Origin

Asia Minor (Black Sea)

Season (United States)

May to July · grows in your region

Preparation

The kernel inside the stone holds amygdalin, which releases cyanide as it digests: swallowing a whole stone is harmless, cracking one is not. Its skin is eaten, and that is where its polyphenols sit: worth keeping, then — but under running water, rubbing it, which is what takes off most of what settles there, organic or not.

Molecules

AnthocyaninsIn small amounts, not counted Phenolic acids

Did you know?

The Roman general Lucullus is said to have brought it back from Cerasus, on the Black Sea, after his campaign against Mithridates.