Nanking Cherries...what do you know?

Question

My husband has been told to eat cherries or drink cherry juice daily to help fend off gout. We would like to plant something in our yard from which we can get cherries for that purpose but don't want to wait several years for a tree type to bear. Has anyone out there grown Nanking cherries and if so, can they be eaten without cooking or are they to sour? How about as a sweetened sauce? thanks.

Answer 1

I've grown 2 Nanking cherry trees for years. I got small bushes and they produced cherries within a year or two. Now after 10 years, and regular spring pruning to keep the bushes small, I still harvest 2 gallons of cherries per year. One cherry bush flowers pink and the other white and I've spaced them about 6 feet apart; they did well for me in a partly sunny location. Every spring they are absolutely loaded with blossoms, and after the bees have pollinated them, they set their fruit and it takes only a few weeks to harvest the cherries. My fruit is 2 sizes, the largest about the size of a good-sized marble. As for taste, I like eating them fresh when they are fully ripe (bright red). I pick them all, and have made delicious jelly, and jam (after the cherries have been pitted). I also use some sweetened pitted cherries to make my Christmas fruit cake and it was very good. To make juice, simmer the ripe cherries on medium-high heat with water & sugar to taste till cherries split and soften; then cool and pour through colander. This juice is delicious! Have fun.