Azure Husbandry Red Cherries, Transitional

Description:   These cherries are from our newer orchards in their last seasons of transition to organic, and we are offering them at a very affordable price.  An orchard must be farmed under strict organic requirements for at least four full growing seasons to meet the organic standard. These cherries come from one of our orchards in its last year of transition to being organic—we purchased this piece several years ago. We immediately began all-organic practices, so while we’ve only used organic farming since we owned it, it has one more year until its fruit can be sold as organic.    The transitioning process is exciting, mainly because we have worked hard to rejuvenate the soil and restore the land—we’ve put on a million pounds of minerals across our orchards this year! We’ve mixed our own microbial pack to bring the soil back to the condition it would naturally be in, had it not been damaged by herbicides and chemical fertilizers. We are so pleased that the soil and the trees have responded beautifully—they are free, and their growth is abundant! Each year we work on revitalizing the soil, we notice you can really taste the difference in the fruit as the trees come back to full life, and this year it should be even better than before.    It’s a fantastic opportunity to get clean, nutrient-rich, and delicious-tasting cherries at a bargain price. Many customers like to freeze, can, or dehydrate them in large quantities to stock up for the year or even a few years.  If you’d rather go with cherries that have transitioned to fully organic, we’ve got a bumper crop of those, too!      Cherries have impressive nutritional value, especially when grown in healthy soil. They’re particularly high in antioxidants, vitamin C, copper, and magnesium. They’ve been shown to reduce inflammation. Studies show they relieve pain, support muscle recovery, promote good sleep, and are good for heart health and gout.    The color of Bing cherries can vary slightly. They may be bright red to a deep maroon, and normally darken as they ripen. The riper cherry will exhibit the sweetest taste, but even those that are still somewhat firm and bright red are usually sweet. It’s a good idea to keep fully ripe Bing cherries in the fridge, especially since they are mostly available during the hot months. Once ripe, they only last a few days unrefrigerated before rotting, and the old saying, “A bad apple can spoil a whole bunch,” similarly applies to cherries. Once Bings start molding, the mold can easily spread to the rest of a bag or bowl of Bings.   Studies performed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2003 show preliminary evidence that Bing cherries help reduce toxins from the body and are a great anti-inflammatory food. The cherries were tested both for their effectiveness in treating arthritis and gout, and the research study concluded that positive results might be gained from eating a daily supply of fresh cherries.  NOT SHIPPABLE TO CALIFORNIA. We do our best to ship quality produce to Alaska and Hawaii, but due to unknown conditions at the barge lines, we cannot guarantee the quality on arrival. Directions: Fresh cherries from Azure Husbandry are only available during the picking season; generally from the last week of June through the second week of August. Ingredients: bing cherries