Mmmmm... Cherries!

The weather here is mucho icky... so I thought we talk about a cheerful little fruit: the cherry. When my dear friend Chad mentioned that Michigan was quite the cherry producer, I was surprised. I never knew. In 1852 a Presbyterian missionary planted a cherry tree near Traverse City, Michigan and they have been flourishing ever since.
Now there are different types of Cherries.


Photo by Wildcat Dunny.

The sweet one. It's the kind you steal from the bin at whole foods, the one that are almost blood red and dark. I love those ones. When I was in Portland I ate an entire bag (in fact I'm going back to Portland in March for a long weekend and I plan to do the same thing). This includes the Bing, the Lambert and the Rainer.


Photo by frankfarm

The Maraschino is like a sub group of the above cause it is made from the sweet cherries. These are the ones that top your sundaes and float around in your Manhattans.


Photo by mstephens7

But it is the Tart One that is grown out in Michigan. These are used in pies, juices and preserves and the primary type is Montmorency, and there is also the Balaton.



Now I'm not all that familiar with this tart cherry. So I'm ordering a few things from The Cherry Stop. Like these dried ones, so I can make this cookie for an upcoming cookie swap, and these Chocolate Covered Cherries. I'll let you know how they turn out.