Orchard Talk

In the 9/29/09 issue of Parade Magazine, Michael O’Shea asks, “Could tart cherry juice be the next big sports drink?”  He cited a recent study at Oregon Health & Science University that tested the effect of tart cherry juice on muscle recovery of long distance relay runners. Runners who drank the tart cherry juice reported faster recovery at the end of the race than those who drank the alternative placebo.

If you’re looking for a refreshing, healthful way to speed muscle recovery and a great source of beneficial antioxidants, try King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate, direct from the Michigan grower.

See our Ad in September 2009 Prevention Magazine

Tags: cherry juice concentrate, cherry juice exercise, marathon tart cherries, muscle recovery, tart cherry juice

What a nice way to start the morning, with a gorgeous Honeycrisp apple sitting on my desk. I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk, but instead of  shouting, “The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!” I will proclaim,  “The Honeycrisp are here! The Honeycrisp are here!”

Now that they’re tree-ripened and ready, we should have honeycrisp apples available for u-pick for the next few weeks, and in the markets through the holidays.

Betsy has started apple gift box shipping, so if you can’t make it to the orchards in person, or would like to send someone King Orchards apples as a special treat, be sure to check out our online store.

Happy Apples! Patty

Ingredients:
2 to 3 strips of bacon, finely diced
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup (about 1/3 pound) chopped butternut squash
2/3 cup dried tart cherries
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or sage leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons almonds or pecans, toasted and finely ground
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons or more chicken or vegetable broth, if necessary
Salt and pepper to taste (used 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove to a large mixing bowl. Add butter, onion and squash to bacon drippings. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until squash is semi-soft. Add cherries and rosemary; continue cooking until squash is soft.

Add squash mixture to bacon. Stir in nuts and bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Add broth, one tablespoon at a time, if dressing is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serving suggestion: Use to stuff pork chops or pork tenderloin. This is also a good stuffing for chicken breasts or Cornish hens.

Makes 1 1/2 cups or 6 (1/4 cup) servings.

Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per 1/4-cup serving: 189 cal., 11 g total fat (5 g sat. fat), 20 g carbo., 20 mg chol., 3 g pro., 2 g fiber, 244 mg sodium. Daily RDA values: 100% vit. A, 15% vit. C, 4% calcium, 6% iron.

Tags: butternut squash, cherry recipes, dried cherries, michigan cherries, Our Websites, tart cherries

Celebrate apple season and those cooler autumn evenings with this robust, red cider made with cherry juice, apple cider, and your favorite spices. Cheers!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup lemon peel, cut into 1/4″ strips
1 /2 cup orange peel, cut into 1/4″ strips
2 cups apple cider
4 cups tart cherry juice (1/2 cup King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate plus 3 1/2 cups water)
2 (1/4″ thick) strips of peeled fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon allspice
5 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer uncovered until liquid is reduced to 4 cups, approximately 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain liquid to remove peels and spices. Discard solids and serve in festive mugs.

Makes 4 one-cup servings.

Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per cup: 175 calories, 0 g total fat; 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 42 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g protein, 1 g fiber, 10 mg sodium; Daily Values: 1% vitamin A, 7% vitamin C; 3% calcium; 8% iron

Tags: cherry apple cider, cherry juice, cherry juice concentrate, cherry recipes, tart cherry recipes

We are very proud of our dried tart cherries at King Orchards, and now we have even more of them to love. We recently added two new products to our store: All American Dried Tart Cherries and Dark Chocolate Covered Dried Tart Cherries.

All American Dried Tart Cherries are sweetened with apple juice rather than sugar. Dried cherries sweetened with apple juice are a great alternative for our customers who are watching their sugar intake, but aren’t quite ready for the extra-tartness of a completely un-sweetened tart cherry. Pleasingly plump and naturally sweetened, these dried cherries are a great kids snack (nothing but fruit and a light coating of sunflower oil) and a great choice for baking (they don’t absorb as much moisture from baking recipes).

We named these new dried cherries “All American” because we sweeten them with only U.S. grown apple juice. There is a lot of imported apple juice on the market these days and frankly, it would have been a lot cheaper to use, but we’re apple growers too, and couldn’t bring ourselves to using imported apple juice.  Enjoy them in good health and in good conscience knowing you’re supporting U.S. apple growers.

Our second but no less exciting addition is Dark Chocolate Covered Dried Tart Cherries.  Premium dark chocolate coats our traditional dried tart cherries, creating a rich and chewy, sweet and tart treat. What more can we say about these yummies other than, it’s about time?!

Tags: chocolate covered dried cherries, dried tart cherries, juice sweetened dried cherries

What a great day for an orchard tour. With John driving and Patty, Juliette and I chomping on apples, we toured the farms.

First on our inspiration list was the size and quality of the apples. Boy, are they beautiful. Mutsu, Empire and of course Honeycrisp took the prize. Harvest of the Honeycrisp should start the last week of September.

Next, we couldn’t get over the squash and pumpkin patch. WOW!! 14 acres and again the size of the squash is huge. John has done a great job of keeping the field clean and nice for long keeping squash. Oh my goodness, you can not believe the size of some of the blue hubbard squash we have. Let me know of any contests for large squash.

Next on our tour was a stop at the pear orchard. The Bartlett and Bosc are, you guessed it, “big”. This is the year for pear lovers to can because the size is so good.

I’m going to be shipping Bosc pears this year in my gift apple boxes so be sure to watch for info on our shopping cart.

Last but not least are the plums. We grow Stanley Prune Plums. We have nick named my brother-in- law Jim, “the plum dumpling” because he is so good at waiting to harvest until the darn things are sweet. Most farmers pick a little too green but he waits and grows the best plums. Once they are in the market I probably eat 10 a day.

Rose is getting ready to dip caramel apples. She always get a callus on her finger from hand dipping these little wonders. I’m thinking of inventing a holder so she doesn’t need to twist them between her fingers. Any ideas pass them on.

Well, I’m ready for a great fall! Betsy

Tags: Apples, bartlett, bosc, caramel apples, honey crisp, honeycrisp apples, michigan orchard, orchard pictures, orchard tour, pears, plums, pumpkins, squash

King Orchards is proud to have been named in USA Today’s 10 Great Places to Pick Your Own Apples!

“Enjoy the recreation playground of northern Michigan when you pick apples here,” said Todd Hultquist, spokesman for the U.S. Apple Association.  Indeed, the sparkling waters of Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay are just moments from our orchards. We’re close to plenty of great dining, camping, hiking, fishing, shopping and golfing. Plus, Michigan grows some of the best tasting, most flavorful fruit in all the world.

The 2009 apple season has begun with Paula Reds (nice for snacking and back-to-school lunches) and Ginger Golds (keep ‘em refrigerated for optimal crunchy-sweet goodness).

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring McIntosh, Galas, Jonagolds, Cortlands, Empires and Honeycrisp.  Mutsu (also known as Crispin), Golden Delicious, Northern Spy and Ida Red apples ripen in October.

Can’t make it to the orchards in person?  Keep an eye on our online store; We’ll begin apple gift box shipping later this month!

Tags: apple picking, apple shipping, honey crisp, honeycrisp, michigan apples, pick your own, usa today

Ingredients

Tags: cherry bars, cherry recipes, dried cherries, healthy cherry recipes, Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound raw unsalted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground white pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp cayenne
• 8 ounces King Orchards dried tart cherries

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the peanuts and stir to coat with the melted butter.
2. Mix together the chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, oregano and cayenne in a small bowl; reserve.
3. Place the peanuts on a large sheet pan and lightly toast in a preheated 300°F oven for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Transfer the peanuts to a large bowl and coat with the dry ingredients. Mix in the cherries until uniformly blended.

Storage: Store the nut mixture in an airtight container.

Adapted The Culinary Institute of America, Hors d’oeuvre at Home (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007)