Bali cherry tree

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food4me Idaho Falls, ID(Zone 5a) Aug 20, 2015

Purchased when they first were available, paid a whopping $50 for it at a local nursery based on all the hype about it being a semi-sweet zone 4 cherry (I've had three other cherry trees that eventually did not survive the spring freeze/thaw cycles where I live). It has done very well, has no insect or disease issues, is a beautiful tree just loaded with fruit every year. BUT the fruit is disgusting. It is not at all sweet, has no cherry flavor, is mostly a sour taste. I've tried cooking with the cherries, and nothing I've made tastes good. I've tried giving the cherries away but everyone who tastes them thinks they are awful, just as I do, and no one wants them. I garden for food and have an edible, permaculture, forest garden landscape. Given my gardening style, it is difficult to justify keeping this tree. I am not interested in attracting any more birds. But the thought of cutting down a tree that cost so much to buy and from which I've gotten nothing to eat is rather sad. Anyone have any ideas how to get a better flavored fruit or what I can do with the gallons of fruit it produces every year?

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altagardener Calgary, AB(Zone 3b) Aug 20, 2015

How very peculiar. We've grown 'Evans' which is the original name for this sour cherry (sold as 'Bali' in the US for some reason; note that it is a sour cherry, not a sweet, eating cherry) for many years. It produces excellent, large tasty fruit for pies and jam, and is palatable out-of-hand for those who don't mind a little bit of tartness. I've never heard of such a complaint, and it is quite commonly grown around here.
For each pie, for ~4 cups of fruit, I use 1.5 cups of sugar (1/2 cup more than I'd use for apple pie, for instance). I don't make jam myself, but my sisters and mom do, and it is superb.

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altagardener Calgary, AB(Zone 3b) Aug 20, 2015

Out of curiosity, how much sugar would you typically use for one pie, just as a point for comparison?

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