The Delicious Health Benefits of Rainier Cherries

Rainier cherries are one of the sweetest cherry varieties around. We love them for their complex flavor and juicy texture, but that’s not all they bring to the table: Rainier cherries’ health benefits might be their real claim to fame! Snacking on them at work is great for your heart, bones, muscles, and overall health.

Before we dig into the how and why, though, let’s go back to basics.

What Is a Rainier Cherry?

You can spot Rainier cherries by their yellow skin and pretty red blush. Inside, they’re juicy and so pale yellow that they’re often called white cherries. Botanists at Washington State University created the Rainier by crossing the Bing and Van cherry varieties, and they named it for Washington’s Mount Rainier.

Rainiers are typically in season in the spring and summer, along with their sister varieties like the Royal Rainier. Roman Rosales of The Flavor Tree Fruit Company, which supplies juicy cherries to The FruitGuys for our fruit mixes, told us how to tell the two varieties apart: “The Royal Rainier tends to have more of a red blush color and has an earlier harvest window than the regular Rainier—3-5 days earlier.”

Rainier Cherries: Benefits at a Glance

Like all fruits, Rainier cherries are an extremely healthy snack. They’re full of antioxidants that fight inflammation, fiber that helps with gut health and digestion, Vitamin C that boosts your immune system and encourages healing, and potassium that keeps your heart healthy and your blood pressure low.

5 Key Health Benefits of Rainier Cherries

Rainiers are a great snack for the office, at home, or even at the gym. Here are just a few of the health benefits of Rainier cherries that you don’t want to miss out on.

1. Less Inflammation – Cherries are full of antioxidants that help protect your cells from damage, including Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A, and polyphenols. These tiny superstars can help reduce your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

2. Healthier Muscles – Cherries contain small amounts of magnesium and protein, which both contribute to strong, healthy muscles. Magnesium actually helps your body produce more protein!

3. Stronger Bones – The calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in cherries are all helpful for building bones and keeping them strong.

4. Lower Risk of Heart Disease – The potassium in cherries may help reduce your blood pressure, which can help protect you from heart disease. The calcium in cherries may also be heart-healthy.

5. Better Digestion – Cherries are full of fiber, which helps keep your digestive organs working smoothly and feeds the good bacteria in your gut. That’s a perk for both your physical and mental health.

It’s pretty amazing that all of these Rainier cherry benefits appear in one sweet little stone fruit!

Rainier Cherries’ Nutrition Profile

Rainier cherries are a healthy, low-calorie snack. Roman told The FruitGuys that their potassium, Vitamin C, and other antioxidants are the nutrients that really make them shine, and we’d also add gut-healthy fiber to that list! Here’s a quick look at the amount of these key nutrients and more that you’ll find in one cup of raw cherries.

• Calories: 106
• Carbohydrates: 24.2 g
• Protein: 1.56 g
• Fiber: 3.15 g
• Potassium: 345 mg
• Phosphorus: 34.5 mg
• Calcium: 18 mg
• Magnesium: 18 mg
• Vitamin C: 15.6 mg

Note: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) doesn’t offer nutrition information specific to Rainier cherries, so these numbers are based on its food details for all cherries.

Where to Find Fresh Rainier Cherries

You can find Rainier cherries at farmers markets and grocery stores when they’re in season or get them delivered right to your office or home through a fruit delivery service like The FruitGuys! Rainiers can be delicate and tricky to ship, but we love sourcing them from local farms and adding them to our regional Harvest and Season’s Best fruit mixes when we can. Both mixes are full of various farm-fresh fruits that change weekly and with the seasons.

To enjoy the health benefits of Rainier cherries while they last, look for the little fruits during the spring on the West Coast and in the summer in the Central and Eastern regions.

FAQs

1. Do Rainier cherries have melatonin in them?

Yes, Rainier cherries have melatonin—a hormone that can help you sleep! According to a paper published by Chinese and American scientists, Rainier cherries have about 10–20 nanograms of melatonin per gram of fruit.

2. Are Rainier cherries better than red cherries?

From a flavor standpoint, which type of cherry is better is up to your personal preference. Rainiers are typically sweeter than red cherries but still have a nice hit of acid. Rainier cherries and red varieties are both good for you, as each variety has its own unique blend of micronutrients. However, red cherries do contain more anthocyanins (a type of antioxidant).

3. How many Rainier cherries can I eat?

According to the USDA, a serving of fresh cherries is about one cup, and it’s recommended that you eat at least two servings of fruit per day. Both of those can be cherries! Enjoy them on their own, pitted and sliced over yogurt or oatmeal, or baked into your favorite dessert.