cerise

Cerise is a term with two related uses in English. It refers to a color in the red family and to the cherry fruit, including the trees that bear it. The color cerise is described as a vivid pinkish-red shade, darker and more saturated than most pinks and often associated with ripe cherries. In color nomenclature, cerise sits between red and magenta in common descriptions, though exact tones vary by system and display.

In botany and horticulture, a cerise is a cherry, a small stone fruit of the genus Prunus. The two principal cultivated species are Prunus avium, the sweet cherry, and Prunus cerasus, the sour or tart cherry. The fruit has a fleshy pulp surrounding a single hard stone and ranges in color from bright red to deep crimson, depending on cultivar and maturity. Cherry trees are grown in temperate regions worldwide, with harvests typically in late spring to mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Culinary uses of cherries are diverse: eaten fresh as a snack, or processed into pies, jams, juices, liqueurs, and desserts. The color cerise is frequently invoked in design and fashion to evoke the fruit’s bright, energetic quality. The term’s French origin reflects the long association between the word cerise and cherries in Western culture.