CHERRY (Sweet Cherry)

• Common Name: Cherry
  
• Vernacular Name: Sweet cherry, Wild cherry
  
• Scientific Name: Prunus Avium
  
• Specimens From: USA
  

Cherry, the lovable, heart-shaped fruit. Due to the attractive bright red and its unique shape, it is a popular fruit often used as decorations on cakes, cocktail drinks, desserts, to name a few. Although there are various species of cherries, most people would associate it with the sweet cherry as it is commonly found in the fresh market. The other, the sour cherry (P. cerasus), is mostly used for cooking. The rest of the cherry species are hardly available as most are not on cultivated scale.

Wild cherry is native from, across Europe to Western Asia. The cultivated sweet cherry is derived from the wild cherry. Turkey is the leading producer of cherries, with the USA trailing behind. Due to the high cost in production, it is an expensive fruit to eat.

When mature, it is bright red to dark red or purple with a single hard stone. Tastes sweet with a tinge of tartness. While we eat wild cherry, shall we play that funky music wild again :)