Dried sour cherries: Sugar added or no sugar added?

I've got some sours in the pipeline approaching the 1 year mark and am starting to think about racking some onto sour cherries. With 2 small children, pick your own is unlikely and visiting farmers markets doesn't jive with my schedule. So I am looking at amazon/walmart. I see the oregon products but have found some dried tart cherries online for decent prince. Some have "sugar added" and others don't (but are more expensive). Has anyone used the dried cherries with sugar added? I was thinking the extra sugar would ferment out like any other simple sugar and I should still get the tart flavoring from the cherries.

I'm not sure what effect, if any, added sugar will have, but definitely be careful that your cherries don't have added sunflower oil, which is common.

Yeah, I have a similar issue. Not sure where I can find sour cherries. Every package of dried tart cherries has oil added, which apparently is a problem.

Anyone know of a source that doesn't include oil? Trader Joe's, Amazon, and Costco are all no's.

Alternatively, any way to remove the oil? Maybe dicing them up and/or rinsing them thoroughly with water?

exileonmainst said:

Yeah, I have a similar issue. Not sure where I can find sour cherries. Every package of dried tart cherries has oil added, which apparently is a problem.

Anyone know of a source that doesn't include oil? Trader Joe's, Amazon, and Costco are all no's.

Alternatively, any way to remove the oil? Maybe dicing them up and/or rinsing them thoroughly with water?

Click to expand...

Found a supplier online but they aren't cheap:

http://www.thecherrycountry.com/home/tcc/page_167_9/dried_tart_cherriesbrno_sugarbr_1_lb._bag.html


Also I ended up ordering 8 cans of the oregon tart cherries packed in water from Amazon on subscribe and save for $26.

exileonmainst said:

Yeah, I have a similar issue. Not sure where I can find sour cherries. Every package of dried tart cherries has oil added, which apparently is a problem.

Anyone know of a source that doesn't include oil? Trader Joe's, Amazon, and Costco are all no's.

Alternatively, any way to remove the oil? Maybe dicing them up and/or rinsing them thoroughly with water?

Click to expand...

Target carries dried cherries without the oil added. I use them for cocktails.

I know you said that farmers markets didn't fit your schedule, but it's cherry season right now. Here's the haul I picked up from a local retailer. Might be worth seeking out the real deal?
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438103012.733922.jpg

Fresh is a possibility. I was looking for dried because that's what Russian River uses in Supplication and I figured I could actually find some dried. But maybe finding fresh would be easier.

Any downside to aging on fresh cherries for an extended period of time? Plan was to rack to secondary with oak and dried cherries and age for a year (or however long it ends up taking to taste good).

Someone else can probably answer that better, but it'll be a slightly diluted flavor compared to dry. On the plus side, the pits add some beneficial flavors.

Hmmmm, doesn't look like I can get fresh tart cherries here in PA right now. Guess it's off to check Target.