Orchard Talk

What a glorious morning! If you’re out and about enjoying this gorgeous sunny day, be sure to stop in the M-88 market and say hello.

King Orchards M-88 Market. We're Open!

We’ll be sampling:

Cheerful Cherry Yogurt Parfaits: A little bit of homemade granola layered with dried fruit (including cherries), tart cherries (thawed from IQF),  and lowfat yogurt.  So yummy you’ll forget it’s good for you.

Slices of Cherry Pie: If you haven’t ever tried one of Rose’s famous cherry pies, you have to stop in and see what you’re missing. Rumor has it a certain Croc wearing celebrity chef was spotted leaving the Kewadin bakery last summer with the Balaton version in hand.  Molto yummy.

3 Varieties of Dried Tart Cherries

Dried Tart Cherries: Try a few apple juice sweetened or traditional sugar infused dried cherries, and let us know which you prefer. We have lots of recipes to share, too.

Tart Cherry Juice: Naturally, you’ll want to try our signature product, King Orchards Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate. If you want, we can give a dissertation on all the healthful properties of Montmorency tart  cherries.  But only if you want.

Frozen Tart Cherries: Both Balaton and Montmorency cherries, thawed from IQF. This is your opportunity to see and taste both varieties and see what you think. We love both, but for different reasons.

Talking Shop

Lively Conversation: It must be the sunshine. Everyone’s in a great mood, happily chatting about truck & equipment building, jeeps, winches and what-not.

Time to stock up on spicy-sweet Balaton cherry salsa.

Don’t forget to pick up a little cherry treat to enjoy at home. Betsy has Everything Cherry on sale through February.

Betsy & Alice enjoying a visit.

Happy Free Pie Friday!

This afternoon, while enjoying a coffee break & Rose’s cherry cheesecake, we took an informal survey here at King Orchards.

“If there was one thing you’d like everyone to know about King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate, what would it be?”

Here is what we learned from each other, and what we’d like you to know:

Jim:  “It takes approximately 20 to 25 pounds of tart cherries to make one quart of King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate.”

John:  “Tart cherry juice concentrate is the least expensive and most efficient way to get tart cherries.”

Betsy:  “To establish a routine of drinking tart cherry juice, think about your personality. Do you like to have a glass of orange or apple juice in the morning or the afternoon? Consider adding a tablespoon or two of cherry juice concentrate to your daily glass of juice. Are you a smoothie drinker? Cherry juice is an easy and nutritious addition to any smoothie recipe. Like a cool, sweet drink? Try adding a bit of cherry juice concentrate to store-bought or homemade lemonade.”

Patty:  “Sometimes I get so enthusiastic about promoting tart cherry juice concentrate as a healthy drink, I forget to tell people how delicious it is! It is bright and refreshing simply mixed with water and poured over ice. Tart cherry juice concentrate also makes an excellent mixer. A little KO tart cherry juice concentrate, some water, soda water or sparkling wine, a little vodka (or not), and a squeeze of lime, and Voila! You have a tasty, smooth and semi-sophisticated beverage.”

Jésus Sr and Maria:  The cherry juice concentrate is so good, they’ll be taking some with them on their vacation to Guatemala this month, to share with friends and family. Not in their carry-on luggage, of course.

Jésus Jr:  There are only 18 days left in our National Cherry Month sale on Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate. During all of February, we’re offering quarts of tart cherry juice concentrate at the sale price of $12.99 instead of $13.99. That means we can ship 3 quarts of cherry juice anywhere in the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and APO addresses for less than $50!

Daisy:  She loves Hip Bones, but we have heard from many people who bake tart cherry juice into homemade dog biscuits (Dogs can use tart cherries to maintain healthy joints too.)

Mike King: There must be something to this tart cherry juice muscle recovery stuff, because his ski coaches keep telling him he should be drinking it while training for races.

Rose: “I’ve had customers tell me all kinds of cool ways to use tart cherry juice concentrate. Drizzle it over oatmeal to make your healthy breakfast taste a lot like cherry pie. Mix it into vanilla yogurt for a classic, soothing flavor combo.”

Is there something you would like to know about tart cherry juice, or do you have a recipe or helpful hint you’d like to share?  We would love your feedback. Feel free to comment here at Orchard Talk, or contact us toll-free at 1-877-937-5464.

Tags: cherry recipes, Powered by Red, tart cherry juice

I am soooo glad it is winter! This really frees up some time for my true love, “Cooking.”  Today is a really cold day Up North so I’m going to try some Cherry Cheesecake! How can you possible mess up a Cherry Cheese Cake? Well, I am going to make it with IQF Cherries because we have tons of them. Oh, for the Non Cherry farmers out there that stands for “Individually Quick Frozen,”  they are an absolute dream to work with  (NO MUSS TO FUSS)! I will share my recipe with you, but only because it is winter and I’m weak from no Cherries! hahahah… This is called “Momma’s Cheesecake”

Momma’s Cheesecake Recipe

5 eggs – separated

1 cup Sugar

1 lb. Cream Cheese

1 cup Sour Cream

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 tsp. Vanilla

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Butter a 9″ Spring Form pan and coat with 1/2 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs (3 Full size Crackers) 1 Tablespoon of Sugar and 1/4 tsp of Cinnamon and 1/4 tsp Nutmeg.

Beat egg yolks until thick and Lemon Colored. Gradually beat in Sugar. Break up Cream Cheese and add to Egg Yolk mixture, beating until smooth. Add Sour Cream, Flour and Vanilla until smooth.

Beat Egg Whites in a glass or metal bowl – until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 70 minutes. Turn off oven and leave for one hour (Without Opening Oven Door!! BIG SECRET!!) Top with your favorite topping when cool!

There is the recipe BUT, I use this recipe for ALL fruit filled Cheesecake also! So today I am going to just roll in a cup of Montmorency Tart Cherries that I have let thaw and drain. Then I am going to make a cherry filling to spread on the top and put a touch of whip cream for decoration only. I am using the Balaton Cherry for this mission because it keeps its shape better. It will have nice and round cherries like ‘Right off the Tree” look in my cheesecake. I can hardly wait to taste it.

With this recipe, if you are folding in fruit, make sure it is as drained as you can get it or you will get some wet spots around your fruit that you added. I just watched Julie and Julia a couple days ago so the excitement it climbing!

Tags: cherry cheesecake, cherry recipes

Rose tried these cherry pie cookies, or mini-pies,  in her bakery some time ago (much too long ago, come to think of it). They were a big hit! I am posting them here by special request.

p.s. I wonder if a person could cut little hearts in the center of the pastries for Valentine’s Day treats.

CHERRY PIE COOKIES

Ingredients:
Cherry filling (see recipe below)  – 1 1/4 cups
Prepared pie pastry
1 Large egg
1 Tbl. Water
Coarse white sugar

Directions:

Prepare cherry filling according to recipe below.

Roll pie pastry on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Using floured cutter, cut into 4-inch diameter rounds. Re-work scraps of pastry once.

Combine egg and water; mix well. Place 1 ounce (1 tablespoon) cherry filling in center of one round. Brush edges with egg wash. top with another round. Seal edges with a fork. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rounds.

Brush top of cookies with egg mixture. Cut slit in top to allow steam to escape during baking. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake in preheated 400 F degree conventional oven 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden. Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely on wire racks.

Cherry Filling
(with canned tart cherries)
Yield: 2-1/4 quarts   (This recipe yields a lot of cherry filling!)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 quarts   Water-pack canned tart cherries (4 pounds 5 ounces drained weight) – 6 15oz cans
1 1/2 cups   Granulated sugar
1/2 cup   Cornstarch
3/4 cup Reserved Juice or water
1 Tbl. Almond Extract

Directions:
Drain Cherries, reserving juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch in 6-quart saucepan; mix well. Stir in reserved cherry juice or water.

Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil 1 minute, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and clear. Remove from heat. Stir in drained cherries and almond extract.

Refrigerate cherry mixture 1 to 2 hours. Cover. Mixture will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Do not heat before using.

Use this filling to prepare Cherry Pie Cookies or other bakery recipes.

Tags: cherry pie cookies, Powered by Red

I really should title this post, “Dave did my homework.” Last night, Betsy sent me home with a can of tart cherries in water and a simple assignment. I was supposed to make the cherry dumpling recipe from MixingBowl.com, so I could write about it today as part of our “28 Days Powered by Red” Orchard Talk series.  Betsy made it last weekend with great success, and assured me it was super good and easy.

I watched “Julie & Julia” on DVD instead. Oh, the irony!

Neither a baker nor a real writer am I, but I do have one thing in common with both Julie Powell and Julia Child: a great husband.  I left him the can of cherries, a folded up recipe and a camera, and here is what he did.

Dave made the cherry sauce. He said he only used 1/2 cup of sugar, and that he would use even a little less next time, just so he could get the extra “pop” from the tart cherries. The other thing he considered was maybe adding a touch of cherry juice concentrate to the mixture to further enhance both the cherry flavor and the color.

Dave brought the cherry filling to a boil.

Dave then mixed up the ingredients for the dumpling part. We’re out of nutmeg at home, so he used cinnamon instead. Butter. Sugar. Cinnamon. No problem there.

Dave dropped the dumpling mix by spoonfuls over the cherry mixture, then did as instructed.  He covered the pot and let it cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes without looking. He said that was the hardest part, not lifting the lid.

Dave texted me at 12:48pm. “Omg c u in a minute.” A few moments later, he brought us a pot of “warm cherry goodness,” just as the recipe stated.  We all agreed it was delicious, and that it couldn’t hurt to add an extra can of cherries if like us, you’d like a little more cherry filling. The dumplings totally hold their own and then some, so this is really just a matter of preference.

Dave posed with then-half-eaten-soon-to-be-completely-eaten pot of cherry dumplings.  This 28 days of cherries thing is turning out to be great fun!

Here is the complete recipe, as published by Kim in Pueblo, CO.

Tags: cherry dumplings, cherry recipes, tart cherries in water

For the month of February (February is National Cherry Month), we will be having a sale on Cherry Juice Concentrate. Instead of 13.99 it will be 12.99 a quart. Also, if you buy a case (12 qts to a case) of Cherry Juice you will receive a free 1lb bag of our deliciously sweet All American dried tart cherries (sweetened with 100% US grown apple juice). They are great, healthy snacks and are also great for baking. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 1-877-937-5464. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have.
Jésus

Tags: cherry juice, cherry juice on sale, Powered by Red, tart cherries

Calling all foodies!!! February is National Cherry Month! The perfect time to try ordering some of our frozen tart cherries. We have been shipping pitted tart cherries for years however, I have done it differently every year. This year I think I have it down pat. Of course, I would like everyone to opt for next day air shipping-that is the best, but, so expensive. So I have done a little testing and here are a few hints. Cherries arriving the next day are beautiful! All of lower Michigan and some Chicago areas come next day with ground shipping. Cherries arriving in 2 days are partially frozen and only 3 or 4 tbls. of juice. Cherries arriving in 3 days will be thawed with some frost on the outside and about 1/2 cup of juice. Cherries arriving in 4 days are thawed but cold and 3/4 cup of juice. Cherries can be refrozen by spreading out in bag and laying out flat. We hope everyone wants to try some of our frozen cherries as I have 100,000 pound to sell. That is only a recipe or 2 each!

Now available in our online store!

Tags: balaton, iqf cherries, montmorency, tart cherries

There’s still time to get that last minute cherry gift out to a loved one for Christmas. If you place an order by noon on December 21st, we can get it packed up and shipped for arrival within the U.S. by Thursday the 24th.

The “Party Pleaser” (featuring chocolate covered dried cherries and our new Nuts about Cherries trail mix),  the “To Your Health” gift package (cherry juice, cherry capsules, and no-sugar dried cherries) and the “Cherry Lovers Gift Box” (with a little bit of everything cherry) are all excellent choices.  Also fantastic are our tart cherry preserves, cherry salsa, cherry butter, tart cherry pepper jelly (pour it over cream cheese, surround with crackers and voila! Instant appetizer!) and spiced tart cherry jam.

With the flat rate priority mail shipping boxes, “If it fits, it ships.” A medium box holds a nice selection of items and ships for $9.85. The larger box offers even more room and goes anywhere within the U.S. for $13.50.

Apples and cherries and chocolate, Oh my! If we work quickly, we can still get apples delivered for Christmas too, like this nice selection of Honeycrisp apples and King Orchards Montmorency cherry products that Lynn just put together for one of our customers.

Many locations are still deliverable by UPS ground shipping in time for Christmas, too. They will be delivering through Christmas Eve. You can use the map below to determine time in transit, or give us a call  toll-free at 877-937-5464 and see what we can do for you.

Happy Holidays!

Tags: Cherries, cherry juice concentrate, dried cherries, michigan cherries, michigan tart cherries, montmorency

We recommend a mixture of 1 part King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate to 7 parts water. One easy recipe is to mix 1/2 cup concentrate with 3 1/2 cups of water to make one quart of juice.  (hint: an empty KO juice bottle works great for this.)

Many of our customers are on a routine of drinking 8 ounces of mixed juice per day. Two tablespoons of concentrate in an 8 ounce juice glass is the right mixture.

One of the nice things about choosing King Orchards Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate is that it is 100% cherries, so you can be creative with how strong you mix it as well as with what you choose as a mixer. Try mixing with club soda, orange juice or apple juice. You can also add it to oatmeal or yogurt or even drink it straight by the tablespoon.

Tags: cherry juice, michigan tart cherries, montmorency, tart cherry juice, tart cherry recipes

National Pie Championship: Best of Show in the Professional division

Linda Hundt, owner of the Sweetie-licious Pie Pantry in DeWitt, Michigan

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups of flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ cup Crisco shortening

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea like.”   Carefully sprinkle ice cold water in crust mix until it just starts to be fully moistened and gathers together.  Pat into disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour.  Roll out on floured surface and make and crimp piecrust.  Freeze until ready to use.

Filling:

• 4 ½ cups Montmorency tart cherries –frozen*
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp real almond extract
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ½  tsp orange zest
• ½ cup dried Michigan cherries
• 1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries

Combine frozen cherries, dried cherries, sugar, cornstarch.  Stir constantly on med-hi heat until boiling.  Boil for one minute or until thickened. Add almond extract, lemon juice and zest.  Pour blueberries in bottom of pie shell and pour cherry mixture over them.

Crumb Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 stick butter softened

Mix together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until crumbly.

Cover filling with crumb topping.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until filling is bubbling over crust.

*Note:  We ship IQF (individually quick frozen) tart cherries during the winter months. Please call 1-877-937-5464 if you’d like information. If you can’t get the frozen cherries, canned tart cherries packed in water make an excellent and affordable substitute.