The fruits show subtle ripening cues. Once you get used to them, it is pretty easy to tell ripe fruits from unripe fruits.
The good thing is, that since there is almost no risk of leaving fruits on the plants too long, you don't have to worry about missing ripening cues.
The taste is not fixed until they develop the subtle color changes that indicate ripeness. You can see how subtle the changes are in the second photo I posted at the beginning of this thread. Once subtle colors develop, then the flavor is pretty much fixed and we have not been able to detect much difference in fruits that colored up a day ago vs. 2 weeks ago. They hang on the plant in suspended animation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddsack
Agree on the pickling especially, my cherries have turned to mush, thought the crunchier ones were slightly better.
So how can you tell when they are ripe? Size? Number of days since setting out? Taste test? Is the taste fixed before they are full sized, so it doesn't matter?
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