Eating cherries, and cooking cherries

Sweet and acid cherries

There are two main types of cherry, the RHS says: sweet cherries, derived from Prunus avium, which are delicious eaten fresh and best grown in a sunny position. RHS Acid cherries, derived from Prunus cerasus, are excellent for cooking and grow well in sun or partial shade, the same page says. RHS

For the sweetest fruits, the RHS says, plant in a sunny spot, although acid cherries will also crop well in partial shade. RHS There are many varieties of each type, the RHS says, producing either red, near black or yellow fruit, from early to late summer. RHS

Commercial cherry production, Britannica says, includes tart cherries (Prunus cerasus), which are frozen or canned and used in sauces and pastries, and sweet cherries (P. avium), which are usually consumed fresh and are the principal type preserved in true or imitation maraschino liqueur. Britannica