The price of golden cherries has skyrocketed. Can we still achieve fruit freedom? These cheap alternatives are also good

Recently, the news #Netizens complained that they bought a box of golden cherries for 583 yuan# became a hot topic.

Many netizens posted that they found the newly launched golden cherries look good when they were shopping at a fruit store recently, but were shocked by the price when they checked out. Taking golden cherries as an example, the retail price of large B-grade fruits is 359 yuan per catty, and the discounted member price is 349 yuan per catty. One netizen bought 1.672 kilograms of golden cherries for a total price of 583.53 yuan.

Many netizens lamented: "Golden cherries are so expensive" and "I really can't bear to buy them."

Some netizens also said: Cherries are expensive in this season.

What's so special about golden cherries? Why are they so expensive? How to choose delicious cherries? What are some affordable alternatives for cherries that you can't afford?

The cherries mentioned in the news are a variety of cherries - Rainier, which can be said to be the aristocrat among cherries.

As one of the early-maturing varieties, it is large in size and has a very unique color. The bright golden color is tinged with a hint of red, just like a layer of blush. In terms of taste, it is sweet and sour with a high sweetness. The skin is thin and soft, and the taste is also softer and tenderer.

Image source: flicker

Of course, its price is also very "noble". Other more expensive varieties include Royal Dawn, Santina, Kordia, etc.

A price comparison of golden cherries and ordinary cherries on an e-commerce platform

In addition to the difference in varieties, cherries also have grade differences. In the cherry grade diagram in the southern hemisphere, growers mostly use J (jumbo) to divide the grades. The more "J" numbers there are, the larger the cherry is. The market is generally divided into XL (small fruit), J (medium fruit), JJ (large fruit), and JJJ (extra large fruit). The diameter of a single XL fruit is 24-26mm, the diameter of a single J fruit is 26-28mm, the diameter of a single JJ fruit is 28-30mm, and the diameter of a single JJJ fruit is 30-32mm. If you want to know the grade when buying, you can find it on the label of the imported original box. Generally speaking, they only differ in size, and there is not much difference in sweetness.

Whether it is aristocratic cherry or ordinary cherry, the price of cherries is not cheap in the fruit world. So what factors lead to such a high price of cherries? There are several factors:

01

Low output

According to Beijing Youth Daily, a relevant person in charge of the Chilean Fruit Importers and Exporters Association recently said: Due to the warm winter last year, the number of Chilean cherries flowering in the spring has decreased, and the current production is only 50% of the same period last year. "

Therefore, the reason why cherries are more expensive this year is actually due to a significant reduction in production. The peak production period of cherries each season is around New Year's Day. Early-ripening cherries are flown in by plane. The quantity is small and the cost is high, so the price is naturally high. As the subsequent production increases, a large number of sea-shipped cherries arrive by ship, and the price will naturally drop. The more it is in the middle and late stages, the more the price will drop. Buying cherries at the bottom can make you eat as much as you want.

02

Expensive shipping

Currently, all cherries on the market are shipped by air, which is expensive. For example, a box of 5 kg cherries costs only a dozen yuan by sea, while the air freight of the same specification costs 150 yuan more.

03

High storage cost

Cherries need to be stored between 0℃ and 1℃. If they are too cold, they will be easily frostbitten, and if they are too hot, they will easily rot. If the packaging is not in place, the cherries will easily be bumped during the process, resulting in increased damage to the goods.

These factors combined make it difficult to lower the price of cherries.

01

Choose green stems

The stems of fresh cherries are relatively green and hard. If the stems turn black, they are no longer fresh and it is recommended not to buy them.

Image source: Qianku.com

02

Choose a regular shape and large size

The shape is regular, the belly is full and round, the size is large, the whole cherry is D-shaped, and the more concave the stalk is, the sweeter it is. At the same time, there should be no wrinkles on the surface of the skin, because this means that the cherry is dehydrated and does not have enough water.

03

Choose dark color

Generally speaking, fruits follow a rule: the greater the temperature difference between day and night in the place of production, the sweeter the fruit will be. Dark cherries are generally sweeter, while light cherries are mostly sour. For golden cherries, choose those with red in the middle, which indicates that the fruit is highly mature and growing well. In addition, dark cherries have a high content of anthocyanins, which helps fight free radicals in the body and resist aging.

More sophisticated brands also mark the color value:

D stands for dark red, indicating high maturity;

R stands for red, indicating a higher degree of maturity;

L stands for reddish, which means it is not very mature.

Cherries are so expensive and there is actually nothing special nutritionally. If you want to balance your nutrition through fruits, there are many other affordable substitutes to choose from.

Take its rich anthocyanin content for example. Compared with black wolfberry, purple corn, purple sweet potato, grapes, black rice, blueberry, etc., it is not particularly competitive.

The anthocyanin content of black wolfberry, the "king of anthocyanins", is between 3264-7286 mg/100g, the highest among common foods. The anthocyanin content of dark cherries is 82-297 mg/100g, but the content of light cherries is only 2-41 mg/100g.

In addition, it is rich in potassium, 222mg/100g, which is relatively friendly to people who need to control blood pressure. However, this content is not much different from the potassium content of bananas. If you have this money, it is more cost-effective to eat bananas.

In terms of vitamin content, the vitamin C content of cherries is only 7mg/100g, which is not dominant among fruits and is only 21% of oranges (33mg/100g). If you want to supplement vitamin C, the following fruits are also recommended.

Image source: self-made by the author

How much does a pound of cherries cost in your area? Have you achieved cherry freedom?

(I won’t say more, the winter dates in my hand are also very delicious)

Source: Science Refutes Rumors, Guokr

Upstream News, Health Times, Science Popularization China

Compiled by: Dang Min