 A glass of Montmorency tart cherry juice | |
| Nutritional value per 1 cup tart cherry juice | |
|---|---|
| Sugars | 32.84 g |
1.45 g | |
.83 g | |
| Vitamins | Quantity %DV† |
| Thiamine (B1) | 13% .161 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 6% .10 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0% 0 mg |
| Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
| Calcium | 3% 35 mg |
| Iron | 6% 1.13 mg |
| Magnesium | 7% 30 mg |
| Phosphorus | 4% 46 mg |
| Potassium | 14% 433 mg |
| Sodium | 0% 11 mg |
| Zinc | 1% .08 mg |
| Other constituents | Quantity |
| Water | 229.13 g |
159 calories per cup | |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2] | |
Cherry juice is a fruit juice consisting of the juice of cherries. It is consumed as a beverage and used as an ingredient in various foods, processed foods and beverages. It is also marketed as a health supplement. It is produced by hot- or cold-pressing cherries, collecting the juice, and then filtering and pasteurizing it.
Cherry juice is a mass-produced food product that is consumed as a beverage and used as an ingredient in various foods, processed foods and beverages.[4] It is sometimes used as an ingredient in cherry ice cream and in cherry pie filling.[5][6] It is also used as an ingredient in cherry brandy and cherry bounce.[7][8] Cherry jelly has also been produced using the juice.[9] Cherry juice concentrate is used by food manufacturers in the production of fruit juice blends.[10] Cherry juice from the Montmorency cherry is used to produce cherry essence, which is used as a flavor concentrate by food manufacturers.[11]
Kirsch fruit brandy is sometimes produced via the distillation of fermented cherry juice.[12] Cherry juice is also used as an ingredient in beer. For example, Samuel Smith Old Brewery's cherry beer contains 17% of organic cherry juice,[13] and Three Floyds Brewing produces its Battle of Charro II Imperial Brett IPA using cherry juice as an ingredient.[14] Cherry cider has also been brewed by some companies using cherry juice.[15][16] Sweetened cherry juice is sometimes used in the production of kriek lambic, a distinctively sour, cherry beer style from Belgium.[17]
Montmorency cherry juice is produced as a dietary supplement, and is manufactured as a concentrate and in capsules as a freeze-dried powder.[18]
Claims have been made that cherry juice can be helpful for improving sleep for people with insomnia, but there is no good evidence to support these claims.[19]
Large-scale commercial cherry juice production is typically produced using a hot extraction or a cold extraction method.[20]
Hot extraction involves heating the cherries, pressing them, and then straining and filtering to remove solids.[4] Hot pressed cherry juice typically has a deeper coloration compared to that produced using cold extraction.[4] The heating of the fruit also serves to prevent the juice from browning, because the heating stops natural enzymic actions that occur when the fruit is macerated.[21]
Cold extraction involves first removing the pits from fresh cherries and then pressing them and collecting the juice.[20] The juice is then heated to kill microorganisms, stop enzyme activity and to solidify particulate matter prior to filtering.[4] As with hot-extracted juice, the cold-extracted juice is also typically strained and filtered.[4] Cold-extracted cherry juice has a greater likeness to the flavor of fresh cherries, and its coloration is lighter compared to that of hot-extracted juice.[4][22]
Frozen cherries are sometimes used, which enables the creation of a juice that has the cherry-like flavor of cold-extracted juice and a deeper coloration such as that produced by hot extraction.[4]
Ascorbic acid is sometimes added as a color stabilizer prior to the cherries being pressed.[20] The juice is typically filtered and clarified prior to being packaged, and pasteurization or flash pasteurization is typically utilized.[20] It is sometimes processed as a frozen concentrate.[20] Commercial cherry juice concentrate is shipped in bulk containers to food manufacturers and in smaller, consumer-sized containers for retail sales.[10]
In the United States, cherry juice is produced mostly in the state of Wisconsin.[4] More minute amounts are produced in the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado.[4]
Pure cherry juice has a strong flavor and can have high acidity, so when produced commercially as a beverage product it is sometimes diluted with water to make it more palatable.[4] Sugar syrup or dry sugar is sometimes added to the product when produced as a beverage.[4] Mixtures of both hot-pressed and cold-pressed juices are sometimes used in the production of cherry juice beverages, which allows for a product that has a desirable coloration and flavor for consumers.[4] Cherry juice is also produced as a carbonated beverage product.[4]
Herodotus notes that cherry juice was consumed by the Argippaeans, either fresh or mixed with milk.[23] Cherry juice was also drunk by ancient Romans.[24]
In the late 19th century, cherry juice was not produced in the United States, and was imported from Germany.[25] The imported juice was used by wholesale liquor and drug companies, as well as soda producers.[25] Drug companies typically used the juice to produce syrups for soda water, and liquor companies used it to produce cherry brandy, cherry bounce and liqueurs.[25] German-imported cherry juice was fortified with alcohol to prevent the juice from fermenting, which would spoil it.[25][9] During this time, juice produced in Magdeburg, Germany from black cherries grown in the area was typically exported to the U.S.[9]
