Monday, July 15, 2013

Rainier Cherries Are In Season- No Recipe Required!

Enjoy these sweet Rainier cherries while they are available!

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Rainier Cherries
Here's a short post to encourage you to run out and get your Rainier cherries while they are in season. You may have passed them in the grocery store and wondered what they are. And, you may have walked quickly past them after looking at their price tag. But these beauties are worth trying as they are the sweetest cherry I've ever eaten!

Their price tag reflects how difficult it is to grow these beauties. They are extremely sensitive to heat,  too much rain and gusts of wind. To add insult to injury, the birds eat about a third of the crop!

Born in 1952
This cherry was named after Mount Rainier and was developed by Harold Fogle in Washington State University's breeding program in 1952. But it wasn't available to the general public until eight years later. It is a cross between the Bing and the Van cherry. 

Rainier cherries are beautifully colored in layers of gold with blush tones of pink and red. Washington state is the premier growing region because of its particular climate. But they also grow in other states such as Oregon, Idaho, Utah, New York and California. Some orchards are also found in Canada and Chile.

No Recipe Required
I'm sure you can bake these into pies, or whip them into ice cream or smoothies, but the very best way to eat this delightful fruit is right out of the bowl!

1 cup of these sweet cherries provides:
87 calories
0.5 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat
Zero cholesterol
36 mg omega-3 and 37 mg omega-6 fatty acids
22 g carbohydrates
18 g sugar
3 g dietary fiber 
1.5 g protein
16% RDA vitamin C

So get them while you can. They won't be around long.




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