cherry Archives | Carol Patterson

I thought I was risking my health when I signed onto a three-day press tour to eat all things cherry. I tried cherry margaritas, pork loin with cherries, cherry ice cream, cherry wine, chocolate-dipped cherries, cherry bars, even cherry-clam linguini. While I wouldn’t recommend a steady diet of sugar-laden treats, the tart cherry itself has amazing health benefits.
Researchers have discovered that tart cherries – the kind seen in pie fillings – may be a super food. Michigan State University scientists were among the first to identify three powerful anti-inflammatory anthocyanins in tart cherries. These compounds may protect artery walls from plaque and help relieve pain.

The tart cherry is also a significant source of melatonin, an anti-oxidant that can reduce brain deterioration associated with aging, and improve sleep. It might be coincidence or placebo effect, but I slept better in Wisconsin knowing I was improving my health by eating cherry pie. The sacrifices made by a travel writer!

TWEETABLES

Reinvent Your Diet with Tart Cherries via @Reinventure. Click to Tweet.

My friend @Reinventure ate all things cherry for 3 days straight. Read more about her adventure: Click to Tweet.

Want to improve your sleep? Add this super food to your diet and enjoy! Click to Tweet.

Door County, Wisconsin sits on a 110-kilometer long peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan. In the19th century, the peninsula’s trees were overharvested – clear-cut in some places, leaving a soil so thin few crops could survive.
Joseph Zettel, emigrated from Switzerland in 1856, and thought the soil would support fruit growing. He raised his first apples in 1862, eventually gaining recognition from the World Columbian Exposition for growing twenty varieties of apples. By 1896, the first cherry orchard had been planted on the peninsula.

It turned out the peninsula’s limestone soil and the climatic influences of Lake Michigan were ideal for tart cherries – the kind found in pie fillings. By 1959 the region was producing 4.5 million kilograms of tart cherries and had earned the name ‘ Cherryland USA’.

Tourism development has caused declines in agricultural production in recent decades, but there are still plenty of cherries. They attract tourists eager for cherry-laced cuisine and entrepreneurs like Carrie Lautenbach-Viste at Orchard Country Winery & Market are busy adding new products like cherry wine, grilling sauce and salsa, to satisfy consumer demand for cherries. It is proving successful. Her employee, Bill Gonnsen, explains the financial benefits, “Cherry growing is a very sustainable business. With only 100 acres we are able to employ 19 people part-time for six months and nine people full-time. That is more than a relatively small piece of land can support with other crops.”

Sustainable forestry would have been better a better historical choice, but I’m inspired that a simple cherry has reinvented the region.

TWEETABLES

The Power of a Cherry via @Reinventure. Click to Tweet.

Discover how one man turned this 110-kilometer long peninsula into a major cherry producer. Click to Tweet.

Have you visited this 110-kilometer peninsula known as Cherryland USA? Click to Tweet.