Cherries in syrup are long-life foods that belong to the whole of the preserved fruit and subset of canned fruit.
Fresh cherries - fruit of the tree Prunus avium - like all pulpy and acidulous fruits, they belong to the VI or VII fundamental group of foods - fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A or vitamin C. They also contain fructose - which delineates an average energy intake - a lot of water and specific minerals, including especially potassium. However, once transformed into "preserves" - washing, cutting, pitting, cooking and potting in a sweet preserving liquid - the vitamin concentration tends to decrease significantly. Also, compared to fresh cherries, cherries in syrup are much richer in soluble / simple sugars and calories. This gives it a high glycemic-insulin load and index; they are therefore not very suitable for clinical nutrition, especially for overweight, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridemia. An excess of sugars can favor the formation of dental caries. antioxidant additives - especially vitamin C or ascorbic acid, such as the many types of ascorbate.
The recipe for cherries in syrup is quite simple. The steps necessary to increase shelf life are cooking and potting with sterilization; assuming an adequate heat treatment, the most important - but also the most delicate - step to obtain syruped cherries with a perfect consistency - even in the long term - is certainly the formulation of the syrup.
In the kitchen, cherries in syrup are mainly used as a dessert, sometimes accompanied by whipped cream and / or liqueurs and / or chocolate chips and / or biscuits - even crumbled. It is advisable to eat them away from main meals, so as not to reach too high a glycemic load; they can be a snack or a breakfast ingredient. Several recipes contain cherries in syrup even if, generally, they are united by a calorie intake and excessive simple sugars compared to the requirements of an ordinary diet; a classic example is "Spanish" ice cream, but cherries in syrup are also used for many types of cakes - especially cold - such as cheesecakes - or for various spoon desserts - such as semifreddo.
