I love spring. It is the time of renewal and rebirth, of cleansing and freshness and in California it's also the time for cherries! There is nothing quite like the sweet taste of fresh crunchy just picked cherries, it is a fruit I have trouble stopping eating... I have several favorite cherry memories but today it is when I made a fresh cherry-lovage chutney to serve with whole roasted air dried ducks that were stuffed with late Meyer lemons and lavender and basted with my friend Jim's fresh honey. I was invited to and preparing a small dinner party and Julia Child was on the guest list! I had been awarded Julia Chile grant to go to Paris and study the farmer's markets and this was our first formal meeting. It was an amazing day and dinner, she was a fabulous dinner guest and loved the menu. Cherries always make me smile and think of her.Cherries date back to the BC era when both sweet and sour cherries were cultivated in the Mediterranean. Their cultivation declined with the fall of the Roman Empire and it was not until the early seventeenth century in England that cherry production was rediscovered. By 1640 Kent County became known as the number one cherry produce in the world.
Rather finicky, this delicate fruit requires specific growing conditions. The fertile moisture-laden valleys of Michigan, Northern CA and the Pacific Northwest ideally meet the cherry's fussy demands for warm days and cool nights. CA and WA are the top cherry producing regions in the US.
Chilean cherries are available briefly in the winter, just in time for Valentine's day and super expensive. Rainier cherries (yellow) have a more limited production due to the fact that they bruise even easier than their red cousins. Sour cherries are almost all used for commercial canning (what a waste!). They do not travel well and are super fragile but they have been making a showing on the commercial market in limited production in the last few years.
Red Brooks and Sequoia come first followed by Bings and Rainier's.
Pack and size varies.
