At Chukar, we're proud to naturally dry our fresh cherries without added sugar, sulfites, or preservatives. Not using sugar in our dried cherries was one of the founding principles of owner Pam Montgomery when she set out to pioneer a new way to dry Washington's cherries back in the 1980s — and our process hasn't changed since.

We believe that starting with the ripest fruit and drying it slowly creates a naturally sweet dried cherry: the kind of clean, wholesome snack that we'd want to eat ourselves. But if you've ever picked up a bag of dried fruit at the grocery store and flipped it over to read the label, you already know that not everyone shares that philosophy.

What's Actually in Most Dried Fruit?

If you watch your sugar intake for any reason — whether you're managing diabetes, following a low-carb lifestyle, or just trying to eat cleaner — you've probably noticed something frustrating: almost every bag of dried fruit on the shelf has added sugar listed as a main ingredient. Dried cranberries, dried mango, dried apricots, and yes, most dried cherries, are sweetened with sugar or corn syrup before they ever reach you.

Here's why producers do it — and why we don't.

1. Sugar extends shelf life. Sugar acts as a preservative, just like salt. Dried products with added sugar can sit in a warehouse or on a store shelf for much longer before the quality degrades. That's great for a producer's logistics. It's not so great for your nutrition.

2. Sugar fakes freshness through color. Without added preservatives or sugars, all dried fruit will naturally darken over time. That's just what happens when fruit dries — it's completely normal and has no effect on flavor or nutrition. But consumers have been conditioned to associate bright red or golden color with freshness and quality. Sugar stabilizes that color, making a mediocre product look more appealing than it actually is.

3. Sugar makes the fruit look plumper. Sugar crystals bind with the natural moisture inside the fruit and "puff up" the dried pieces so they look rounder and more substantial. It's a visual trick. A plump dried cherry looks more premium, but that plumpness is just sugar, not quality fruit.

4. Sugar covers up low-grade fruit. This one is the most important. Sugar makes everything taste better — even unripe fruit, or fruit grown on lower-quality trees. A producer using subpar cherries can add enough sugar to mask the flavor entirely. You'd never know the difference. We would.

5. Sugar adds weight, and dried fruit is sold by weight. The more sugar and oil a producer adds, the heavier the bag — and the more profit per unit. It's a straightforward financial incentive that has nothing to do with making a better product.

The Chukar Difference

Our process couldn't be more straightforward: we start with ripe, tree-fresh Washington State cherries and dehydrate them as soon as they're washed. No sugar. No oil. No sulfites. No shortcuts.

Our low-temperature drying process preserves the enzymes, antioxidants, melatonin, and natural sweetness that make cherries so good for you in the first place. The same nutritional benefits you'd get from eating fresh cherries off the tree are locked into every bag we make.

Does our process cost more? Yes. It requires more labor, produces less finished product per pound of fresh fruit, and results in a darker-colored cherry that some shoppers might initially overlook. But we're not in the business of making something that just looks good on a shelf. We're in the business of making something genuinely worth eating.

What This Means for You

When you choose Chukar's no-sugar-added dried cherries, you're getting:

• Only natural fruit sugars — no corn syrup, no added sweeteners, nothing that isn't already in the cherry
• A lower glycemic impact — because there's no added sugar spiking the carbohydrate count
• The full nutritional profile of fresh Washington State cherries, including antioxidants, potassium, melatonin, and vitamin C
• Real flavor — the natural sweetness of a perfectly ripe Bing or Rainier cherry, not a sugar coating masking something inferior

For anyone managing blood sugar, following a keto or low-carb diet, or simply trying to make smarter snack choices, the difference between a no-sugar-added dried cherry and a conventional one is significant. A typical store-bought dried cherry can have 25–30 grams of added sugar per serving on top of the fruit's natural sugars. Ours has zero.

Try Our Naturally Dried Cherries

We offer several varieties, all dried without a single gram of added sugar:

• Bing Cherries — Our classic dark sweet cherry, naturally dried and deeply flavorful
• Rainier Cherries — Washington's golden gem, with some of the highest natural sugar levels of any cherry variety
• Organic Totally Tarts — USDA Certified Organic tart Montmorency cherries, naturally dried and perfect for sleep support or baking
• Cherry Medley — All three varieties in one bag, so you can taste the full range of what Washington State has to offer

We know there are health-conscious people out there who are willing to pay a little more for a clean product — one made with real ingredients, real care, and real transparency. That's exactly who we make our cherries for.

Explore our full naturally dried cherry collection and taste what a dried cherry is supposed to taste like.