Fresh and sweet, northern Michigan cherries are in season!
I stopped by the Elberta Farmers Market this morning and picked up my first batch of sweet cherries from Lauri Brown of Brown’s Honey. What a treat! Each year I almost forget how much I love cherries until I have that first juicy taste of the season.
In recent years, I started freezing sweet cherries, as well as tarts, so I could grab a couple from the freezer on days when I want to remember what summer tastes like. During late summer, they’re a refreshing snack; come winter, they’re a welcome reminder of sunny summer days.
So enjoy—it’s cherry time!—my favorite time of year in Northern Michigan.
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Selecting and Storing
- Select firm, ripe fruits with stems intact. Cherries with stems will stay fresher longer.
- Store unwashed cherries in plastic bags or containers in the refrigerator and use within 3-5 days.
- To freeze tart cherries: Wash, pit, drain, then place in containers and freeze. (To freeze individual cherries, place on a cookie sheet to freeze and then once frozen, place in plastic freezer bags.)
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Fun Facts
- In 1852, Peter Dougherty planted some of the first cherry trees on the Old Mission Peninsula. The trees flourished and soon neighbors started planting cherry trees, too.
- By the early 1900s, the cherry industry was thriving on the Peninsula and all along Lake Michigan.
- Today, there are almost four million cherry trees in Michigan, which produce 150 to 200 pounds of tart cherries per year. .
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Nutritional Information:
- Cherries are an excellent source of Vitamin C and a good source of potassium, magnesium, iron, folate, and fiber.
- Cherries have among the highest levels of antioxidants compared with other fruits.
- Tart cherries are higher in nutrients than sweet cherries, including Vitamin C and beta carotene. They contain19 times the beta-carotene of blueberries and strawberries.
- Some studies show that eating about 20 cherries a day could reduce inflammatory pain and headache pain.
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Recipes:
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Sources/Links:
www.cherrymkt.org
www.michigan.gov
www.cherryfestival.org
Taste of Home
For a list of farms in your area and more recipes, visit www.localdifference.org.
Taste the Local Difference is a project of the Michigan Land Use Institute’s Entrepreneurial Agriculture Project, which works to grow jobs, save farmland, and build healthier communities with food that’s thousands of miles fresher.
