Sour cherry

Yes, you can eat them fresh, but keep in mind they’re much more tart than sweet cherries. They’re often sweetened or combined with other ingredients to balance the flavour.

The main difference between a cherry and a sour cherry (kriek) lies in their flavour and use. A cherry is usually a sweet fruit eaten fresh or in desserts. A kriek is a sour cherry, mainly used for processing, like in pastries, jams, or the well-known kriek beer.

In short: all krieken are cherries, but not all cherries are krieken. Krieken belong to the sour cherry varieties, while regular cherries are often sweet varieties.