Orchard Talk

New to drinking cherry juice? Here is a brief introduction to mixing and enjoying delicious 100% Montmorency tart cherry juice.

Getting Started:
Cherry juice concentrate should be refrigerated upon arrival. You can store it for 6 months in the refrigerator or 12 months in the freezer. King Orchards cherry juice concentrate is concentrated to 68 brix; It won’t freeze solid or expand in the freezer.

Mixing cherry juice:
For a single glass of cherry juice, we recommend a mix of 7 parts water to 1 part concentrate. That’s 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) of concentrate for an 8 ounce glass of juice.

Another easy recipe is to mix 1/2 cup of cherry juice concentrate with 3 1/2 cups of water. This makes 1 quart of juice. We suggest making no more than a quart in advance, to minimize the possibility of spoilage.

Get Creative!
King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate is 100% Montmorency cherries. That means it’s pure fruit, so feel free to experiment! Try mixing with club soda, orange or apple juice. A bit of tart cherry juice adds a nice flavor twist to summer lemonade, and is also a great cocktail mixer. We have many customers who add cherry juice concentrate to their yogurt and oatmeal, too.  It’s a sweet and sour delight over ice cream. Tart cherry juice concentrate gives everything a boost of natural cherry pie flavor.

Do you have a great cherry juice recipe?
If you have your own tart cherry juice recipes or serving suggestions, we’d love to hear and share them. Jot us a note in the comment section, or give us a call toll-free at 877-937-5464.

Cheers! and as always, thank you for supporting Michigan cherry growers!

Tags: cherry juice, mixing cherry juice, tart cherry juice

My wife Rose and I went out to Pennsylvania for the Mid Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Growers Convention last week. We went to the convention to market Cherry Juice Concentrate along with our Dried Cherry Products. There were a lot of vendors there selling Farm Market Items, Farm Equipment, Financing Institutions and Everything for the production of fruit. We sold out of product and the show was good for us. It was good to shake hands with existing customers and meet some new ones.  While at Hershey, we had to try the Hershey products and were not disappointed. We had a quick trip home without incident, thank you highway patrol.

Tags: cherry juice, cherry juice concentrate, dried cherries, Powered by Red

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

Why February for National Cherry Month? That question has been floating around our office the past few days. I believe that it has to do with George Washington cutting down a cherry tree and since we celebrate his birthday in February … My niece, Meg, pointed out that it is stupid to not have National Cherry Month in July when cherries are fresh and available, but having it in February does have a few advantages and here is how I see them:

1. The foodies of the world need something to get excited about. In Michigan there are no fresh local veggies right now and cherries, “our local state crop,” adds spice to any dish. One just needs to be creative to find great recipes, not just desserts either that use cherries.

2. In Michigan, you have to remember, we have “winter white blindness” and the thought of red cherries is so welcome.

3. February is a great month for cherry farmers to get on board. I’m sure I would not have been able to spend the time in July on marketing that I have here in February.

4. In July, people are already eating cherries. We need people to remember to use cherries in their recipes in a different month like February and March and April.

5. Cherries thickened can top yogurt or oatmeal and add color and zest. What better time to do that then February?

Whatever the reason we have National Cherry Month in February, King Orchards is happy to head the parade reminding everyone to “EAT CHERRIES”. Keep watch as we will have a fresh blog everyday in February.

Tags: cherry juice, michigan cherries, national cherry month, Powered by Red, tart cherries

Join Orchard Talk every day in February as the King Orchards family, crew and guest bloggers will be writing about cherries: growing and harvesting cherries, cherry recipes, cherry juice, and cherry nutrition news.  We’re calling this series “28 Days Powered by Red,” in honor of National Cherry Month and American Heart Health Month.

28 Days Powered by Red: Day 1

We have a gorgeous winter day today. Unfortunately, I won’t be out much since I am trying to wrap up the year end accounting. The preliminary meeting went OK with our accountant but we have some ripples. Glenn Kole has been doing our tax returns for years. He is retired as a MSU farm economist with extension, and he really knows his farm tax landscape. But, now he is retiring from doing tax returns too, so he set us up with an ag accountant with a larger Traverse City firm. The first meeting went well and we have lots to think about. We are now paying the Michigan Business Tax. Purely ag enterprises are exempt but when you sell direct to the public (farm markets), or business to business (b2b mail order cherry juice) then you lose your exemption. We are exploring forming an LLC to put the mail order stuff under so we don’t lose the exemption on the ag side. We all know the state is desperate for the money!

This winter we have a constant buzz going in the shop. Tad Dowker, a long time cherry harvest helper, graduated from MTU (My alma mater!) and was laid off from his engineering job. Tad and Eric Belcher (our capable mechanic) have teamed up in the shop and are putting King Orchards on the right track.

First they took apart the old cherry harvester and replaced rusted and fatigued metal with lots of fabricating and welding. They made numerous improvements over the original design. Next they brought in the newer shaker that we bought in California last summer. They added numerous features which adapt it to our hilly terrain. We hope to take a shaker head from an old Shockwave Shaker which is very gentle on trees and fruit, and install it on a newer Coe shaker which isn’t as sensitive. This will take some planning and lots of fabrication.

Now they have taken our old pickup truck and removed the body to make the first of two forklifts on the schedule. Both Tad and Eric love “mud trucks” so they have brought their expertise on suspensions to the project and this looks like the best shopbuilt forklift ever. Instead of rear springs we use air bags from semi-truck suspensions. This allows a super soft smooth ride for the bins of apples and cherries. These lifts cost a fraction of a new brand name forklift and they actually fit our needs better than anything you can buy (we make them lower and shorter so they slip under the fruit and branches) The beauty of these lifts is that a worker can easily learn to drive them, they scoot quickly and quietly down long rows and back and forth to the farm yard bringing in bins of cherries (2000 lbs) or apples (1000 lbs).

If there is time we will buy several old school bus chassis and strip them down then add a huge fan to make wind machines. I have blogged in the past about wind machines and we think adding 5-6 more will make us feel more protected.

I have to quit blogging now so that I can think of projects to stay ahead of the shop’s dynamic duo!
John

Tags: cherry farming, cherry growing, cherry juice, cherry shakers, Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, Our Websites, Powered by Red

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

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

Take the Cherry Challenge (page 60 of the September 2009 issue of Prevention magazine or see our 8/25 blog post) then scroll down to check your answers.

Answers:

1-C:  Melatonin is a naturally occurring antioxidant in Tart Cherries that helps maintain normal sleep patterns. Tart cherries are one of the few known food sources of melatonin. Dr. Russel Reiter, a leader in melatonin research, gives tart cherries high marks for their melatonin content. “We were surprised at how much melatonin was in cherries, specifically the Montmorency variety,” says Reiter.  “Cherry juice concentrate, which involves greatly reducing the water content, has ten times the melatonin of the raw fruit.”

2-B: Montmorency dried tart cherries were certified heart healthy by the American Heart Association.

“Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans today, so it’s important we continue researching ways people can improve their diet to help reduce key risk factors,” said Dr. Steven F. Bolling, a cardiac surgeon at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center who also heads the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory. “We know excess body fat increases the risk for heart disease. This research gives us one more support point suggesting that diet changes, such as including cherries, could potentially lower heart disease risk.”

3-B:  Yes. Research indicates tart cherries have substantial amounts of potent antioxidants including melatonin and anthocyanins. These and other compounds found in tart cherries are believed to maintain healthy joints and a healthy cardiovascular system, among other benefits.

4-C:  Tart cherry juice after a workout is the way many athletes speed muscle recovery.

5-C:  ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (measuring the antioxidant capacity of foods). We sent King Orchards Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate to Brunswick Labs in Massachusetts for antioxidant testing. Their lab results reflected 7,077 ORAC units per one ounce of cherry juice concentrate.

So, how’d you do? We’d like to know.

Tags: antioxidants, Cherries, cherry juice, cherry juice concentrate, healthy joints, heart healthy, michigan, michigan tart cherries, montmorency, muscle recovery, tart cherry juice

As seen in the September 2009 issue of Prevention magazine.

CHECK OUT YOUR CHERRY SMARTS!

1. Melatonin is:

A. The color of a melon.

B. A mythical Greek goddess.

C. A naturally occurring antioxidant in Tart Cherries that helps maintain normal sleep patterns.

2. Were Montmorency Dried Tart Cherries certified heart healthy by the American Heart Association?

A. I don’t think so.

B. I know so.

3. Do Tart Cherries help sustain healthy joints?

A. No.

B. Yes.

4. What helps speed post-exercise muscle recovery?

A. More exercise.

B. A Boston cream donut.

C. Tart Cherry Juice.

5. Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate has an ORAC rating of over 7000 units per serving, making it very healthy indeed. ORAC:

A. Vacuums your floors.

B. Is a global intelligence-gathering satellite system.

C. Stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (measuring the antioxidant capacity of foods)

Tart Cherries:

The Answer to Everything

Check tomorrow’s blog update (8/26/2009) for answers.

Tags: antioxidants, Cherries, cherry concentrate, cherry juice, healthy joints, heart healthy, melatonin, michigan tart cherries, montmorency, muscle recovery, normal sleep patterns, ORAC, tart cherries

Tart cherry juice after a workout is the way many athletes ease muscle soreness. This triple hit of tart cherries, antioxidants, and protein is a great post-exercise treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup thawed tart cherries (canned tart cherries are an easy and less expensive alternative)
1 cup fresh or partially frozen strawberries
3 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1 /2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt (or vanilla nonfat yogurt)
1 /2 cup tart cherry juice (1.5 tablespoons cherry juice concentrate)
2 Tablespoons honey
ground nutmeg

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except nutmeg in a blender and whip until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Makes 2 servings (approx. 1 1 /2 cup each)

Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per 1 ½ cup serving: 227 calories, 1 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 1 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber, 51 mg sodium; Daily Values: 5% vitamin A; 134% vitamin C; 16% calcium; 6%iron

Tags: cherry juice, cherry recipes, tart cherry recipes