This stone fruit -- a relative of plums, peaches, and nectarines -- has a short harvest season, making a brief appearance in the produce aisle from June until August.

Recipes
Cherry Compote
Turkey Sandwich with Compote
Buglur Salad with Cherries

Health Benefits
Cherries offer a hearty helping of anthocyanins, the antioxidant responsible for their rich, reddish-purple color. Believed to ease inflammation and prevent chronic illnesses, anthocyanins also block the same enzymes targeted by aspirin. That could explain why eating cherries may help reduce pain in arthritis and gout sufferers.

Beta-Carotene
Both sweet and sour cherries (the latter are used mostly in pies, preserves, and sauces) contain the antioxidant, but the sour kind have more, even beating out blueberries for beta-carotene content -- 25 times over.

Potassium
There's nearly as much potassium  -- which is important for blood pressure control and reducing the risk of hypertension and stroke -- in one cup of sweet cherries as in a small banana. Diabetics may find cherries even more appealing because of their low glycemic index compared with many other fruits. And the soluble fiber found in this small fruit helps lower LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, helping to prevent heart disease.

Melatonin
Need a better night's sleep? Cherries might help in that department, too. Both sweet and tart contain melatonin, shown to help regulate sleep patterns and fight the effects of jet lag.

How to Buy
The maroon-colored bing cherry prevails as the most familiar sweet type around, though the Rainier, Queen Anne, and sweetheart varieties are gaining in popularity. Tart cherries typically come canned or frozen; in the summer, you might find them at farmers' markets.

Choose firm, richly colored cherries with green stems; avoid bruised, soft ones and those with brown stems. Unwashed fruit should keep in your refrigerator for up to a week (wash right before eating, as water can cause the cherry to soften and split).

Nutrition Breakdown
Per 1 cup sweet cherries, without pits
Calories: 97 kcal
Fat: 0.3 g
Fiber: 3.2 g = 13 percent* of DRI**
Vitamin C: 10.8 mg = 14 percent of DRI
Potassium: 342 mg = 7 percent of DRI

* Percentages are for women 31 to 50 who are not pregnant
** DRI, Dietary Reference Intake, is based on National Academy of Sciences' Dietary Reference Intakes, 1997 to 2004

Text by Alisa Blackwood
Recipes by Kristen Evans