How to Pick Cherries (Gilas): Sweet Ones, Pitting and Storing (Video)

Transcript

Choosing Perfect Cherries

Ever wonder why some cherries taste just right while others fall flat? Let’s walk through picking, storing and enjoying them the easy way. You’ll learn what to look for at the market, how to keep them fresh, and a quick way to pit them without fancy tools.

At a Glance

Cherries are in season from mid-May to July in the hills of Swat, Kalam, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. The sweetest ones show a deep, even colour, a glossy skin and a bright green, flexible stem. Keep them unwashed in the fridge for about a week, or a day or two on a cool counter.

Season & Colours

In Pakistan the harvest comes from Swat, Kalam valley, Hunza, Nagar, Skardu and parts of Balochistan; in India it’s Kashmir and Himachal. Early fruit is often darker, almost black, and the richest and sweetest when fully ripe. Bright red cherries are sweet with a light tang, while yellow-blush ones are mild and honeyed. The sour variety, called alubalu, is sharp and perfect for sharbat or cooking.

Stall Picking Tips

When you’re at the stall, take a minute before you pay. Look at the stems first, a green, bendy stem means the cherry was just picked, while brown, dry stems have been sitting for days. The skin should be glossy, not dull. Give one a gentle press; it should feel firm and springy, like a tight grape. Finally, glance at the bottom layer, any juice stains or a sour, wine-like smell tells you the fruit underneath is crushed.

Quick Wisdom

A cherry never gets sweeter on your counter. Pick it right at the stall or not at all.

Storing for a Week

Heat is the enemy for cherries. A warm June afternoon can spoil them faster than several days in the fridge. The best way to store them is unwashed, in a bowl or open box lined with a dry kitchen towel, stems left on, and any split ones removed. They’ll stay fresh for five to seven days. If you need them sooner, a cool room for a day or two works, but avoid hot flats. Wash only right before you eat, under plain running water, no soap or salt soak.

Pitting Without a Tool

You don’t need a fancy pitter, just an old shirt to protect your clothes from juice. One easy method uses an empty glass bottle and a chopstick: sit the cherry on the bottle’s mouth and push the stick through the stem end. Another trick uses a clean paperclip bent into an S-shape, push one loop in, hook the pit and pull. You can also cut around the pit with a small knife, twist the halves apart like a tiny peach, and flick the pit out. It takes about ten minutes for half a kilo once you find a rhythm, and keep a damp cloth handy.

Why Spit Out Pits

Cherries belong to the stone-fruit family, alongside apricots, peaches and almonds. Inside the hard stone is a tiny kernel that contains amygdalin, a natural compound that can release cyanide when crushed and chewed. Swallowing a whole pit accidentally is usually harmless because the shell stays intact as it passes through. The risk appears only when the pit is cracked, chewed, or ground into a powder or tea. So it’s safest to spit the pits out and enjoy the flesh.

Nutritional Snapshot

A cup of sweet cherries, roughly twenty fruit, about 140 grams with pits, provides around ninety calories, three grams of fibre, and eighteen grams of natural sugar. It also offers a modest amount of potassium and a little vitamin C, though a guava beats it on that front. The deep red hue comes from anthocyanins, the same pigment you find in jamun and black grapes, and darker cherries have more of it. In short, cherries are a hydrating summer snack with fibre, not a miracle cure.

Gilas Chaat Recipe

For a quick, refreshing snack, try a simple gilas chaat. Pit and halve about two hundred grams of cherries, then toss them with half a small diced cucumber, six torn mint leaves, a pinch of kala namak, a pinch of roasted jeera and a squeeze of lemon. Eat it within fifteen minutes for the best flavor.

Traditional Uses

In the hill valleys, people traditionally eat cherries by the fistful while they’re in season. Sour cherries are often dried or boiled into a sweet sharbat for later use. Unani writers even counted sour cherry among cooling, thirst-quenching fruits for hot weather. These are traditions and tastes, not medical claims.

Myths & Facts

There are a few myths worth clearing up. Swallowing a whole cherry pit won’t poison you, it passes through intact. The danger is only when the pit is crushed or chewed, which can release cyanide. No fruit gives you a sore throat, but very cold cherries can feel harsh on an already irritated throat, so let them sit out ten minutes. And remember, cherries, almonds, peaches, apricots and plums all belong to the same Prunus genus.

Care Tips

A few care tips: for young children, remove the pit and cut the cherry into halves or quarters, and have them sit down while eating. Cherries contain sorbitol, a natural sugar alcohol that can cause gas, bloating or loose stools in larger amounts, especially for people with IBS. If you have kidney disease and need to limit potassium, keep an eye on your cherry intake.

Thanks for Watching

If you’d like more details, check out the full post on thecareonline.com. Remember, this is just friendly guidance, not medical advice.