Montmorency Sour Cherry Concentrate
Montmorency sour cherry concentrate is the juice of the Montmorency cultivar of Prunus cerasus, the light red tart cherry grown chiefly in the Great Lakes region of North America and in parts of Europe, concentrated under vacuum to a high solids liquid.
Montmorency is an amarelle type sour cherry, meaning the flesh and juice are light coloured rather than the dark red of a morello. The juice is high in malic acid, giving a titratable acidity of around 1.5 to 2.0 percent on single strength against a Brix of 14 to 16, which is the sharp acid to sugar balance that defines the fruit. Its phenolic profile is the reason most of the concentrate is sold: cyanidin glycoside anthocyanins in the skin, together with chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acid and a set of flavonols, and the fruit is one of the few dietary sources of measurable melatonin, which is the basis of the sleep and exercise recovery positioning of the retail category.
Concentrate is traded at 65 to 68 Brix as a dark red viscous liquid, filled aseptically or held frozen. It disperses fully in water and reconstitutes to a bright or lightly hazy juice depending on grade. Anthocyanin loss under heat and light, and browning driven by the combination of acid, reducing sugar and long storage, are the practical shelf life limits, so the material is evaporated at low temperature and held cold.
We source bulk Montmorency Sour Cherry Concentrate from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shanghai. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Beverage ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear to slightly hazy viscous liquid, free from sediment |
| Colour | Dark red to deep ruby |
| Flavour and odour | Characteristic tart cherry, no cooked, almond or fermented note |
| Soluble solids | 65.0 to 68.0 Brix at 20 degrees Celsius |
| pH | 3.1 to 3.6 |
| Titratable acidity as malic acid | 7.0 percent minimum on concentrate |
| Total anthocyanins as cyanidin 3 glucoside | 500 mg/L minimum on concentrate |
| Transmittance at 625 nm | 85 percent minimum, clarified grade |
| Sulphur dioxide | Not detected |
| Lead | 0.05 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 0.1 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 100 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 20 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
Common Markets Grades
Clarified concentrate, fully depectinised and filtered to a bright liquid, is the volume grade and is used for clear juices, supplement shots and blending. Cloudy concentrate retains fine suspended solids and more of the phenolic fraction and is used where a fuller product is wanted. Single strength not from concentrate juice is traded alongside, as is a spray dried tart cherry powder carried on maltodextrin or on a fruit fibre carrier for capsules and sachets.
Lots are bought on Brix, titratable acidity and the acid to Brix ratio, on colour by absorbance or against a reference, and increasingly on total anthocyanin content by spectrophotometry, which is the attribute the supplement trade specifies. Because Montmorency is priced above darker European sour cherry varieties, authenticity testing by sugar and organic acid profile, by stable isotope ratio or by anthocyanin fingerprint is a routine part of the specification. Organic certified material and lots segregated by crop year and growing region are traded separately.
Applications
- Tart cherry juice and reconstituted juice sold on its sleep and recovery positioning
- Concentrated shots and supplement liquids dosed on anthocyanin content
- Sports and recovery beverages taken around exercise
- Capsule, tablet and sachet supplements made from the spray dried powder
- Juice blends, where a small addition supplies acidity and deep red colour together
- Dairy fruit preparations, drinking yoghurts and fermented milk drinks on a low pH base
- Bakery fillings, pie and pastry preparations built on a tart cherry profile
- Jams, preserves and dessert sauces
- Confectionery, jellies and fruit chews using the juice as a natural colour and flavour source
- Sauces and glazes for duck, pork and game, where the acid balances fat
Brands Using Montmorency Sour Cherry Concentrate
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Montmorency Sour Cherry Concentrate on the ingredient label.
- Dynamic HealthTart Cherry Concentrate ↗A single ingredient juice concentrate pressed from Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Dynamic HealthOrganic Tart Cherry Ultra 5X ↗A 100 percent juice concentrate extracted from Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries with no added sweetener.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Traverse Bay FarmsMichigan-grown Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate ↗A 68 Brix concentrate made only from Michigan-grown Montmorency tart cherries with no added sugar or preservatives.Label verified 2026-08-31
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Montmorency Sour Cherry Concentrate
Top Montmorency Sour Cherry Concentrate manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States tart cherry juice and concentrate are conventional foods and dietary supplement ingredients rather than food additives, and juice processors operate the hazard analysis and critical control point plan required by 21 CFR Part 120. The Brix reference value published for sour cherry establishes single strength for reconstitution and sets the percentage juice declaration. Claims made about sleep, recovery or inflammation are the regulatory pressure point for this material, since structure or function claims are permitted within limits for supplements while disease claims are not, and marketing that crosses into disease treatment brings the product within the drug definition.
In the European Union sour cherry juice and concentrate fall under the Fruit Juice Directive as amended, with a minimum reconstitution Brix set for the species, and any health claim made on the finished product must be an authorised claim under the nutrition and health claims regulation. Codex covers the material through its general standard for fruit juices and nectars. Patulin, which is regulated in apple products, is not the concern here, but pesticide residue and heavy metal limits of the destination market apply, and authenticity against the fruit juice industry reference guidelines is checked routinely because the material is priced well above other sour cherry juice.
Manufacturing Process
Cherries are shaken from the tree mechanically into water filled tanks, which cushions the fruit and begins cooling it, and are moved to the plant hydraulically. They are washed, sorted and pitted on a rotary pitter, then milled to a mash. The mash is heated briefly, which softens the tissue, inactivates polyphenol oxidase and raises anthocyanin extraction from the skin, and is then dosed with pectinase and held until viscosity falls far enough for the material to release juice, since sour cherry mash presses poorly untreated.
The mash is pressed on a belt or horizontal rotary press and the raw juice is screened and centrifuged. Clarified grades take a second enzyme hold, fining with gelatine and silica sol, and filtration on diatomaceous earth or a crossflow membrane. The juice is deaerated, aroma is stripped and recovered for return to the finished concentrate, and the body is evaporated in a multiple effect falling film unit under vacuum at a temperature kept low to protect the anthocyanins. Concentrate is drawn at target Brix, pasteurised, cooled rapidly and either filled aseptically into bag in box and drums or drum frozen.
