Calories in Juice, tart cherry, from concentrate, shelf-stable

What makes juice so powerful?

Tart cherry juice is notably rich in anthocyanins, specifically cyanidin-3-glucoside, which gives the Montmorency cherry its bright red hue. Unlike sweet cherries, tart cherries are rarely eaten fresh and are primarily processed into juice, dried fruit, or concentrates. The concentration process involves pressing the cherries, filtering the juice, and evaporating the water to create a dense syrup, which is later reconstituted with water for shelf-stable packaging. This evaporation process preserves the phenolic compounds but increases the ratio of sugars to water in the concentrate before dilution. Historically, tart cherries were brought to North America by French settlers in the 1600s, planting them along the Saint Lawrence River. Today, Michigan dominates U.S. production due to the moderating effect of Lake Michigan on winter temperatures, which prevents the delicate cherry buds from freezing. The natural melatonin present in tart cherries is a rare dietary source of this sleep-regulating hormone, making the juice a subject of numerous circadian rhythm and exercise recovery studies.