Before cherries can be placed on trays to be dried they go through a machine that pulls off the stems. They then go down a sorting belt where bad cherries are tossed out.

There are two ways cherries are dried. Cherries can be dried naturally or with sulphur-dioxide. Cherries that are dried naturally are placed into a dehydrator to be dried very rapidly to protect them from oxidation.

The main purpose of sulphur-dioxide is to prevent oxidation. Cherries that are dried in the sun are exposed to oxygen for a great amount of time before they are fully dried. Sulphur-dioxide is a powerful antioxidant that prevents oxygen from bonding to the cherries. When oxygen bonds to the drying cherry (oxidation), not only does it take the color and flavor from the cherry but also depletes the beta-carotene and Vitamins. After this process, the cherries are then placed on trays in the sun to dry for about 3 days in 90* California Valley weather.