Should You Pick Cherries with the Stem

Sour cherries will come off the stem when they are ripe enough to be harvested, while sweet cherries should be tasted for maturity. … Harvest cherries with the stem attached if you are not planning on using them right away. Be careful not to tear off the woody fruit spur, which continue to produce fruit each year.

Do cherries last longer with stems?

But that doesn’t mean cherries missing their stems are no good. … Cherries will keep well for at least a week in the fridge. They freeze well, too. Rinse, pat dry, and freeze them in airtight plastic bags.

Why are stems left on cherries?

Cherries for processing can be harvested mechanically and handled a lot less tenderly than cherries for fresh market, so it’s a less costly process. … A key problem, however, is that when cherries are shaken from trees, they want to leave their stems behind.