Thanks for joining us while we share what's happening on the farm this week. If you would like more information about our family farm, please visit KingOrchards.com. You can also shop for our Montmorency Tart Cherry Products in our King Orchards Online Store.
We invite your comments, questions and suggestions.
The King Family
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We just received results from our recently-conducted nutritional analysis of King Orchards Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate. Independent lab evaluations revealed that our tart cherry juice concentrate provides over 7000 ORAC units and 330 mg of Anthocyanins per one-ounce serving.
Antioxidant strength is measured in Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) units. ORAC measures how many oxygen radicals a specific food can absorb and deactivate. The more oxygen radicals a food absorbs, the higher its ORAC score.
Anthocyanins are what provide cherries their distinctive red color and may hold the key to the health benefits locked inside. These rich, red pigments that give cherries their color are a type of phytonutrient known as flavonoids, which have been linked to a variety of health benefits.
Already, nutritionists and sports enthusiasts have recognized the powerful antioxidant profile of Montmorency cherries, and are incorporating them into their fitness regimens. The British Cycling Team, for example, credits cherry juice as one of the secrets to their phenomenal success - 15 Gold Medals! - in the Beijing Olympics. They drink Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate from CherryActive in the UK.
According to a recent article in the Scotsman:
GB Secrets Can Lead to Success in Velodrome… From new equipment to diet – the consumption of vast quantities of cherry juice being one example – they are at the cutting edge of innovation.
And from The Independent:
The Ride of Their Lives: Britannia Rules the Wheels: Lottery millions, laser scans, the latest in sports psychology, and a daily dose of Montmorency cherries… “Nutritionists advise the riders on diet. The British team consume large quantities of fish oils and juice from Montmorency cherries. As antioxidants, they help the muscles to recover more quickly after strenuous exercise.”
We can’t promise Olympic gold, but we’ll do our best to keep providing delicious and nutritious 100% tart cherry juice concentrate as efficiently and affordably as we can. Cheers!
0 comments Patty | Cherry News, King Orchards Cherry Products
In Traverse Magazine’s Food Loving Summer, an “it-list of the fresh and fleeting discoveries that make life up here so delicious,” Emily Betz Tyra said King Orchards peaches are so irresistible, they will “make you weak in the knees.” Thanks Emily! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
But don’t take Emily’s or our word for it. Come out to the orchard right now for fresh-picked or pick your own peaches. We’re starting this week with Early-Glow and Garnet Beauty varieties, both tasty and juicy semi-freestone peaches. Red Haven peaches, everyone’s favorite freestone canning peaches, should be ready after the 17th, along with our almost-famous nectarines. We’re talking running down your arm juicy good peaches and nectarines.
And that’s not all! Apricots are still jammin’ and there are plump red raspberries to be picked (they’re ever-bearing and will be here til September). In the fruit-stands, we have yellow and red plums, blueberries, sweet corn, melons, the best red & white potatoes ever, peppers, onions, zucchini, cherry chocolate oatmeal cookies, cherry juice concentrate, killer Balaton cherry salsa, dried cherries and our new Nuts about Cherries trail mix… practically everything for a perfect summer picnic.
For dessert, Lexi and Rose have been baking up a bevy of fresh fruit pies. Try the lovely Lattice Topped Cherry, Crumb-Topped Cherry, amazing Apple, beautiful Blueberry, righteous Cherry-Raspberry or their newest creation, the Three Berry Pie, a triple threat featuring Blackberries, Raspberries and Blueberries.
Apricots are in! We have a large, beautiful crop this year, and have opened them up for u-picking at $1.75 per pound.
It looks like we have a few days left of cherry picking. And plenty of raspberries.
We also have delicious Michigan blueberries for sale in the market, as well as Bay City corn, potatoes and onions.
We should be seeing the first of our peaches, the Garnet Beauty, start to ripen next week. The Red Havens will be ready closer to the middle of the month.
Bring the whole family to the orchard for a fun, affordable day trip they won’t soon forget! Our trees are all specially trimmed so the cherries are accessible, even for small children.
Pick your own tart cherries: 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 $1.00 a pound, and there is a flat $6 fee for washing and pitting (any amount) while you wait.
Still Picking Sweets: The sweet cherry picking is really great right now. You can pick dark sweet (Bing) cherries for $1.75 per pound, and light sweets (Rainier or Queen Anne) for $1.25 a pound.
Picking Raspberries: We also have raspberries ripening and turning deep red in the warm, summer sun. You can go out to the patch and pick your own for $4 a pint.
Need Directions? Visit our map page or get Google Map Directions from your location. Call us toll-free at 877-937-5464 if you have questions.
0 comments Patty | Cherry News, King Orchards Cherry Products, Orchard Talk
The black sweet cherries have been slow to ripen but we are finally there! Sweet cherries are in the markets by the quart. U-pick will open on Wed 7/9 at the m-88 farm. The picking will be much easier towards the week-end. Price for u-pick is 2.00/lb up to 25 lbs and 1.75 over. Raspberries are ripe for u-pick. Come out and enjoy the farm. Cherries will be in for about 2 weeks. Tart cherries ripe about 7/16. Happy harvesting!
We are loading up the tables for the cherry festival right now. We will be at the open space in Traverse City Fri noon until 10 pm. The hours July 5- July 12 are 10 to 10. Our markets are op[en all holiday week-end with strawberries and pies. The sweet cherries are not cooperating and look as though they will not be ripe until July 6 or 7 and u-pick to start around July 8 to 10. We do have sweet cherries on the trees and the season will last about 3 weeks if it stays dry. The rain splits the cherries and shortens the crop. Tart cherries or sour pie cherries are very short and will be hard to schedule u-pick. I’m not saying we wont have it but I haven’t seen the light on how to manage the u-pick. I do plan to pit fresh tart cherries and put them into my tubs and 10 lb bags. Just keep an eye out and we will see how it goes. Apricots and peaches look great. Happy 4th!!!!!
We’ve been getting lots of calls this week about u-picking. For general estimates, our Harvest Calendar offers a month by month guide to what’s in season, from May blossoms through October pumpkins.
We’re still thinking sweet cherries will be ready around the 8th or 10th of July, but you might be able to pick raspberries by the 4th. We’ll keep you posted!
In the meantime, enjoy this travel video Brian Kaufman from the Detroit Free Press shot last summer, which features an interview with John King and cherry lovers & pie makers from Chicago.
Strawberries are finally here! The strawberries look absolutely wonderful and delicious. They taste just as great as they look. The prices of the strawberries are set at $4 a quart and $30 a flat (8 quarts). The season should last through July 7th or so.
It’s been raining so much lately! In the past 40 days, we’ve had rain on 24 of them. Hopefully it dries up soon, because the rain can cause the cherries to split. All of our gardens are staked out and planted, so the rain will be good for just a few more days. Guess what happens tomorrow? Strawberries are finally in the market! They were even later than we thought, but now they’re coming for sure. And next week, the Cherry Festival starts in Traverse City on the 4th of July! We have a little more work to do before we’re ready, but things are coming together. That’s about all that’s happening this week…bye for now!
Hey everyone! Megan here, writing for Betsy while she’s at church. (For those of you that don’t know me, I’m John and Betsy’s niece that lives here on the farm with them.) The season really feels like it’s starting now, because of the strawberries coming in this upcoming weekend. But what I’m looking forward to is the raspberries. Uncle John says that they’re looking good and will be in in about 10 days. These ones won’t be here in 10 days, but in a couple years we will have a half-acre full of raspberries at the US-31 market! In other news, King Orchards will be going to the Traverse City Cherry Festival, July 4th-12th. See you there! 