Roadside cherries takes big time commitment

With giant pictures of cherries and one sign promising "XXXX large cherries," you know what's coming before you even have a chance to pull off.

And every day she's out there.

Rain, hail or (more likely, at this time of year) blazing hot sunshine, she's selling cherries, freshly picked from an orchard in Young, with the exception of one important day - Christmas.

If there was ever a fruit that signified the festive season in Australia it would be cherries. No Christmas is complete without a big bowl of fresh cherries - and perhaps a couple of plates of cherry baked goods as well.

"It's Christmas, you know, cherries," Ms Radocha says.

"A lot of people, when they see cherries, they think Christmas is coming. It's almost here.

"And cherries also bring a lot of people together. Families share cherries, it's the fruit that we share and enjoy together."

There is something particularly unique about buying cherries, and indeed any fruit, off the side of the road.

For some, it's become a bit of a Christmas tradition alongside the cherries themselves - getting them from a stall on the side of the road.

You find yourself hunting down where the best ones are, which are usually not too hard to find - for every not-so-great one, you can probably find a few fantastic ones. But it becomes almost a game, a competition between friends of who found the best cherries at the best deal.

Because a good deal not only helps the back pocket but also how many you walk away with. It will always be more than you plan on - who could pass up 10 kilograms of cherries for that price?!

And then there's the baking. Shortbread, cheesecake, and pavlovas are usually the go-to. Cherry pie is always delicious, and freezing extra cherries to have with ice cream is a way to make the cherry (and festive) season last a little longer.

"I do a cherry cake, and also a banana cherry cake that is very special," Ms Radocha says.

"My girls, they make different cheesecakes with massive cherries in them. They both have birthdays around Christmas so there's a lot of cakes to be decorated."

Sure, you can go to Young and pick your own - and if you have time that's always a good day out. But between work Christmas parties, end-of-year festivities and friend catch-ups, time can be lacking.

But what about the supermarkets?

Well, Farmer's Pick co-founder Josh Ball went viral on TikTok with footage of him with 4000kg of rescued cherries from NSW and Victoria.

Farmers Pick "rescues" misshapen produce to sell directly to the consumer, saving produce from food waste.

"This year, over 3 million kilos of cherries are gonna go to waste because they don't meet the supermarket's unrealistic beauty standards," he said in the video.

"Supermarkets have rejected these for being a few millimetres too small or for having a blemish on them. But they taste just as juicy and sweet.

"Cherries are the most expensive fruit in Australia and when they're wasted they cost our farmers millions."

Figures from the Department of Environment reveal that Australians waste the equivalent of 312 kilograms of food per person annually, costing the economy an estimated $36.6 billion a year.

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