How to Preserve Cherries by Freezing or Drying

Cherries are really easy to preserve by freezing or drying. The question of pitting before or after freezing is a choice you’ll need to make, but I always pit before freezing which makes them super easy for the kids to use in their smoothies.

How to Freeze Cherries

Cherries don’t need any special treatment before freezing.

1. 1. Rinse the cherries off and pat dry.
   2. Stem and pit them.
   3. Arrange on a sheet pan to individually freeze them.
   4. Once frozen, place in a sealed zipper bag.

How to Dry Cherries

Cherries don’t need any special treatment before drying.

1. Rinse the cherries off and pat dry.
2. Stem and pit them.
3. Cut cherries in half. Small cherries may be left whole, but you want them to dry evenly and fully. Very large cherries may need to be quartered.
4. Place in a food dehydrator in an even layer, and dry until they are leathery and pliable, but no pockets of moisture remain. It generally takes around 14 – 22 hours with my dehydrator.

Image of cherries from QuinnDombrowski via a CC by-SA 2.0 license.