They are very popular plants in Black Sea regions, like Georgia, Crimea, Turkey. Cornelian Cherries make the best possible preserves (jam). I personaly make it with pits in. It has very right balance of sweetness, tartness and very unique taste. They are also unbeatable for "sweat and sour" sauces, similar to oriental plum souce. The bush covered with berries is a sight to see. I think there are many different varieties, some are tall, some are short. There are wonderful cornelian cherry palnts (many of them) in DC arboretum.
olga

When I asked one green world about them, they said yellow one was more tart than the others.

I taste the Cornelian Cherry varieties at One Green World each year at their open houses. I would somewhat agree that they are tedious to eat. Large, elongated pit running the length of the fruit, and the edible fruit layer itself is rather thin. Pit-to-fruit ratio is much higher than sweet cherries. Generally, they are also quite sour. I've never been tempted to grow one for fresh eating.
However, this year at One Green World they gave out samples of Gelato made with Cornelian Cherries. It was to die for! Freaking delicious! I couldn't stop myself from going back for more samples. I would imagine jams would be similarly tasty. But I also think that pit removal and processing would be a major pain. You would need alot of fruits to get much end product.

Well, I have a Cornelian Cherry grown as a bush form that is about 20 years old, so I think it is as "mature" as it's going to get. I'd say it's about 15 feet tall. I bought it from Raintree. It is just seed grown, not a named variety.

I love the fruit. It ripens in August, and to me, it tastes like a blend of sour cherry and cranberry. Personally, I think it would be "tedious" to sit there and pit each fruit like an olive or a cherry. I don't do that, I just take wash them, put a whole bunch of them into a kettle with about and inch of water, bring to a boil and then steam them for about 10-15 minutes. They become extremely soft, and I then transfer them to a colander and press the flesh through with a spoon. The flesh passes through quite easily, since at that point it has the consistency of thin applesauce, and in just a minute or so I have clean pits left behind and nice pureed flesh.

Great to make sauce like cranberry sauce, jam, syrup, etc. I also like to mix it about 1/3 Cornelian Cherry to 2/3rds sliced apples to make a great pie.

I have 4 more growing of various ages that were seedlings of the original, and they also have nice fruit.

The other thing I've found that they are good for is drying after they get really, really ripe. This, of course, either does necessitate pitting them first, or just eating around the pit. To me, when dried, they taste almost exactly like the dried cranberry "Craisins" sold in stores.

As far as I'm concerned, it is just a great plant because it is not only edible, but also extremely ornamental in the spring when in bloom, in mid summer when full or ruby red fruit, and the fall color is decent, not stellar by any means, but decent.

When I eat them straight off the tree they are very tart. I usually pick them and let them sit on the kitchen counter for at least a day and most of the tartness is gone.
Not sure if others have tried that.

Bass

I like the fruits, as does one of my four kids - but everyone else I've offered them to declined to try them again - or anything else 'different' that I bring in for folks to try.
Seems most place it in the 'cranberry-flavored cardboard' category. Certainly tart and somewhat astringent when still firm, but if you wait until they're very dark red(for the red varieties) and beginning to shrivel a little, they're quite tasty.
If nothing else, they make a nice ornamental - first thing to bloom here in the spring; there are three nice ones, probably 15 ft tall, in a municipal park that are covered in the tiny little yellow flowers in late Feb/early March; look not too much unlike large Forsythia bushes. I have a hard time beating the birds to the fruits.

Well, I don't think they're very good raw, either. They are both sour and astringent, unless soft ripe (essentially, "bletted" as with medlars), at which point they are OK, but not anything I personally would go out of my way to get.

But, as with cranberries, which also aren't really good to eat raw, Cornelian cherries shine when cooked. Heat eliminates the astringency, and, unless you're a glutton for punishment or enjoy things really tart, I'd venture to guess that you are going to sweeten them in some manner.

I have never seen a 30-40 foot Cornelian cherry, 10 -20 is more realistic, but then again, they live to 250 years, so maybe the ones that are that old could be 40 feet tall. Cornelian cherry preserves are TO DIE FOR! I can eat a jar by myself in one sitting. The varieties you mentioned are all good Russian cultivars and are supposed to have fairly large fruit. They can be grown as shrubs, tolerant of some shade, no pests or deceases, and you also get early season blooms and late season fruit - what's not to like? They might take a while to get established though.
Grow

Is there anyone who has seeds to trade or sell, of superior fruiting varieties? I have one growing from seed, but no idea what the fruit will be like. It is sure a pretty plant though.

I read an article in Pomona years ago about someone who was visiting some country in eastern Europe where CC's are a very popular fruit and he said they had delicious varieties there, much better than anything he ever tasted here. I don't know if anyone has brought any of these to the U.S..

Harvestman, the varieties offered by One Green World (Pioneer, Red Star, and Yellow) are Ukrainian in origin.

I'm glad to see all the positive comments about Cornelian Cherry because I've got a young Elegant in the ground, Red Star and Yellow coming this spring from OGW, and 12 seedlings coming from Burnt Ridge for an edible allee (with Prunus Mumes).

Cornelian cherry is one of my favorites. It makes the best jam, the fruits stay whole with pits - it's absolutely delicious! In Russia (where I am from originally) it's a delicacy. I just hope it grows fast - I have 3 tiny twigs from OGW planted last year... If anyone knows where I can get a more mature bush, please let me know! I don't want to wait 15 years for my jam, LOL
In Russian it's called 'kizil', and here's a nice video about it...

Here is a link that might be useful: You Tube Kizil Video

Malaec - I just ordered a large, fruit-bearing size cornelian cherry "Elegant" from Lucile at Whitman Farms. She also has bearing-age Pioneer and Red Star. She is so helpful - you can definitely find what you are looking for there.

Loved the video.

MK

In Kyiv (or Kiev depending on your preference) Ukraine is a botanical garden that has beautiful specimens of Cornelian Cherries 150-200 years old that still bear fruit.

Hopefully they‘re still standing as I write this

Prayers to Ukraine.