King Orchards Tart Cherry Juice

Tart Cherry Juice from King Orchards  


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 Tart Cherry Juice
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How to get Cherries
As the demand for cherries continues to grow, more and more people are calling and asking how they can get them. This page describes the different varieties and the options you have, both in season and out.

June 26, 2007

We are expecting sweet cherries to be ripe and ready for picking by the first of July, and tart cherries around the 10th. The prices listed here are 2006 prices, but should give you a guideline of what to expect; we won't have a definite price per pound for a few more days yet.

Tart Cherries
Tart or "sour" cherries are the Montmorency variety for which northern Michigan is famous. These are extremely perishable and very difficult to sell as a fresh fruit, which is why you won't see them in the fresh produce section of your supermarket.

Your options -

  • Pick your own here - You can pick your own tart cherries in season right from the tree and we will wash them and pit them for you. This year they are 85 cents a pound, and there is a flat $6 fee for washing and pitting (any amount) while you wait. We expect u-pick for a few more days at least (as of July 21st). This is very popular and people drive 200 miles or more to visit the beautiful Grand Traverse area and pick cherries.

  • Dip from our tanks during harvest - As we harvest tart cherries they go immediately into tanks of cold water, and then are brought up from the orchard to the fruit stand to the cooling pad where they are held for a few hours and continually rinsed with cooled water. These are same price as u-pick - 85 cents a pound. This only lasts for a few days and is happening right now, but call ahead to be sure.

  • Washed sorted and pitted - from our cooler for the next few days. 10 pound bags are $16.50 at the fruitstand.

  • Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate - Available year 'round by mail order. Call or order online. This is the most affordable, convenient and potent way to get the nutritional value of tart cherries into your diet.

  • Dried Tart Cherries - Available year round by mailorder. Call or order online. Dried tarts are the second best way to get tart cherries into your diet and are great for snacking and baking.
Balaton Cherries
Balaton is a European Morello-style sour cherry we grow. They are firmer and sweeter than the American Montmorency variety. They are available fresh in our fruitstand around the first of August.
Dark Sweet Cherries
We grow several varieties of dark sweet cherries sometimes called "Bing" or "Black" cherries. These are available for u-pick and in the fruit stand and are fresh-eating cherries. We ship a limited amount of fresh dark sweets overnight in season. Again, expect to pay around $100 total for the cherries and the shipping.
Light Sweet Cherries
We grow several varieties of light sweet cherries, sometimes called "Queen Anne" cherries. These are available in the fruit stand and for u-pick and are fresh-eating cherries.
Stores

Our tart cherry juice concentrate is available in some health food stores and specialty produce stores.

Cherry juice

There are a few things to be watch for and be careful about with brands other than King Orchards.

  • Ready to drink juice costs more and the heat pack process seems to cause deterioration of the qualities that provide the health benefits, which is why we are shipping concentrate rather than ready to drink juice.

  • There are reports of brands of concentrate that are not a full quart and therefore seem less expensive, as well as juice that does not have the full 68 brix (a measurement of quality) that we sell.

  • Many people have told us that there is a distinctly better taste with our juice than with the other brands. We grow the cherries and we know taste and quality. As tart cherries become more and more popular, there will be people trying to cash in with inferior products, so as always be a wise consumer.
Dried cherries

You may see dried tart cherries in the store, but they usually do not have the flavor or texture that ours do.

Frozen IQF Montmorency cherries

This is an excellent way to go, if you can find Michigan IQF Montmorency cherries.

Canned Montmorency - "pie cherries"

This is another good way to go. They don't have quite the nutritional potency of juice. If you can't find them in your store, call us and we can ship them to you, or order them online.

 

More Questions? Give us a call, toll free at 877-937-5464.

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4620 N. M-88
Central Lake MI 49622
1-877-937-5464

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updated - July 21, 2005
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