Are cherries outdated and too complicated?
Cherries are becoming less popular, at least the per capita consumption has decreased again. Are cherries simply too complicated and therefore out? A search for clues in the land of Black Forest cherry cake.
When things aren't going well with someone, one can express it with the words: "Eating cherries with them is not good." New numbers seem to indicate that cherries are no longer a good match for the Germans. More bluntly put: people in Germany are consuming less cherries than before. But what's going on in the country where Black Forest cherry cake, Danube wave, waffles with hot cherries, or even Mon-Chéri pralines are considered cultural heritage?
For the fourth consecutive year, people in Germany consumed less fresh and processed cherries, as the Federal Agricultural Office (BLE) reported at the end of June. According to the latest figures, the per capita consumption was 1.7 kilograms (economic year April 2022 to March 2023). That's half a kilo less than the previous year and even a whole kilogram less than five years ago.
According to the BLE, reasons for the decline could be extreme weather events and higher sales prices. However, the question could also be raised: Are cherries simply out?
"Cherries are likely to be outdated and complicated for many consumers," says Thomas Ellrott, a nutrition psychologist at the University of Göttingen. "Outdated because there haven't been many hip new cherry recipes since KiBa (also known as BaKi), and because many new fruit alternatives are now competing with cherries in the market." KiBa refers to a marbled cherry-banana puree (more precisely, a mixture of fruit nectars). It was quite popular in the 90s. "Cherries are complicated because each one has a pit," says Ellrott. "Anyone who has cooked cherry confiture themselves knows how laborious the previous pitting is. A definite disadvantage for this delicious and flavorful domestic fruit."
Among the most popular fruit varieties in Germany, cherries have been lagging behind for a long time. In first place, with 20 kilograms per capita, is the apple. However, there was a minus of more than five kilos in the last five years. Bananas (11 kg), table grapes (5.1 kg), raspberries (3.9 kg), and peaches (2.7 kg) follow, with the peach only falling behind the raspberry in the last decade. The per capita consumption (albeit at different levels) is quite stable for fruits such as pears, plums, apricots, raspberries, blackberries, loganberries, and blueberries.
Are blueberries the new cherries?
For Henryk Flachowsky, head of the Breeding Research Institute for Fruit at the Julius-Kühn-Institut (JKI) in Dresden, the main reason for the declining consumption of cherries is the price. "I believe that cherries are simply too expensive for consumers," he says. The price is sensitive to higher labor and energy costs, but also to frost during blooming and expensive imported goods.
When the price is lower, there would be more demand, Professor Flachowsky is certain. At the fruit stand, with tableware, it's all about the price and people start comparing "What else can I get instead?". And often raspberries come into play." This is in contrast to earlier times when raspberries were only available seasonally." Professor Flachowsky adds. Furthermore, the quality of foreign strawberries, which are offered year-round, has improved. "They taste better today. In the past, there were strawberries that were large and hard and tasted like water."
Departure from the Black Forest Cherry Cake
And what does the frozen baked goods market leader "Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese" think about the classic Black Forest Cherry Cake in general? Dorothee Reiering-Böggemann, Marketing Area Manager, says: "We cannot observe a departure from cherries, on the contrary, our quantities have been stable over the last 25 years."
However, cherries are now being distributed to various cakes, tortes, Sachertorten and cheesecakes. In the past, the Black Forest Cherry Cake had a unique selling point, today for example "Sahne Stracciatella Cherry" is quite popular. This variant comes without cherry water and is therefore suitable for the whole family.
Going back to the beginning: The expression "Eating cherries is not good with (or from) him/her" goes back to the Middle Ages, when cherries were rather rare and therefore expensive.
The Duden explains the expression as a warning against familiarity with the powerful: "Eating cherries is not good with high-ranking people, they spit (throw) the pits (stones) in your face." In other words: When noble people met and shared the sweet fruits, unsuitable guests were allegedly treated badly.
In the international context, addressing nutrition challenges, the high cost of cherries might serve as an obstacle in promoting their consumption. Alternative fruits like blueberries, which are more affordable and widely available, have gained popularity among consumers due to their simplicity and lack of pits.
Despite the decrease in fresh and processed cherry consumption in Germany, cherries continue to hold significance in the country's culinary culture, finding a place in various baked goods such as Black Forest cherry cake and cheesecakes.
