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Sour Cherry trees rarely grow over 18 feet (5 metres) tall. Unlike Sweet Cherry trees, which cannot pollinate themselves, sour trees can. One tree on its own will bear fruit: just the wind is sufficient to carry pollen from one branch to the other, though bees do speed up the process. This is why in old back gardens in which there was just one cherry tree planted, the tree would be a sour one.
Sour Cherries are smaller and softer when ripe than Sweet Cherries. They are round and generally red, but depending on the variety can be yellow, green, a bit of both or pink and red.
On occasion, you will see them sold fresh at markets, but they are usually processed and then canned, frozen or dried. Fresh Sour Cherries have a shipping problem that sweet cherries don't. Not only are they softer, but after harvesting, light makes them turn brown. Even the light in a refrigerator can do it. It doesn't affect their edibility, but consumers naturally don't want to slave over a cherry pie, only to see their nearest and dearest curling up their noses at it because it's an ooky brown inside. This is why you'll almost always see them processed in some way.
They are all very sour, as you would guess. For this reason, they are usually cooked with sugar and used for baked goods and preserves. Popular North American varieties include Early Richmond, English Morello and Montmorency.
There are two families or groupings of Sour Cherries -- Amarelle and Morello. Amarelle (or "Kentish") type Sour Cherries are more common in North America and the UK; Morello type sour cherries are more common in Europe.
History
Botanical detectives suspect that Sour Cherries, such as Montmorency, arose from a chance cross-breed of Sweet Cherry with a ground or bush cherry (Prunus fruticosa). Investigators such as Dr Amy Iezzoni (of Balaton Cherry fame) suspect that this occurred in the area of the Adriatic, Black and Caspian Seas because of the diversity still there, and that returning to the source of the original genetic diversity may hold answers to developing more disease resistant trees.
Sour Cherries were known to the Greeks by about 300 BC. They were introduced into Italy by the Romans about 79 AD. The Romans, who loved them, introduced them into Britain by about 100 AD, but they seem to have disappeared from there during the Dark Ages, with cultivation being re-started during the 1500s.
The first Sour Cherry planted in America was the Kentish Red, in Massachusetts.
Language Notes
Cherry growers have decided the name "Sour Cherries" is off-putting: they'd rather we called them now "tart" cherries or "pie" cherries.
Acknowlegements
Lezzoni, A.F. Sour cherry breeding in Eastern Europe. In "Fruit Varieties Journal". Purdue / Rutgers / Illinois. 38:121-125, 1984.
Also called:  Prunus cerasus (Scientific Name) Cerise acide (French) Sauerkirschen (German) Amarene (Italian)
See Also
Balaton Cherries
Other entries for Sour Cherries
Amarelle Cherries, Marasca Cherries, Morello Cherries, Stevns Cherries
Other entries for Cherries
Candied Cherries, Dried Cherries, Duke Cherries, Maraschino Cherries, Sweet Cherries
Other entries for Soft Fruit
Berries, Grapes
Other entries for Fruit
Bananas, Bletting, Candied Fruit, Citrus Fruit, Dried Fruit, Drupes, Hard Fruit, Olives, Rhubarb
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