Organic cherries

Date: 05/08/2016

Good week!!!

This week was especially cool… The transition we are in now is the end of the season for the cabbage family – broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, cabbage… and we can see the impact on them, even though they remain tasty and nutritious as always.

The hot season, which has already started to blast :), is the most difficult season for our fresh organic produce. The reason is that everything comes to you straight from the garden and fields and does not undergo any treatment by gases / cooling / packaging, either to advance or retard their ripening or to extend their shelf life. Here is our Archive for proper storage of organic vegetables.

This week’s subject is the cherry.

The cherry belongs to the rose family, along with almond, peach and apricot. The cherry-picking season starts now and lasts about two months.

Two species of cherry which are best known especially due to their delicious fruit are sweet cherries (Prunus avium) and sour cherries (Prunus cerasus).

The cherry tree needs a cold climate and therefore in this country they are grown mainly in the Golan Heights and the Western Galilee. If a cherry tree does not receive the necessary cold it requires, it will not bear fruit.

The cherry tree is a unisexual plant, which means that each tree has flowers that are either male or female. Therefore, a cherry tree needs another nearby cherry tree to bear fruit. The pollination is done by the bees :).

The cherries are grown on a large and sturdy tree that can grow up to a height of 18 meters!! Of course, when growing cherries for picking, the height is limited so that it is easier to pick. There are dozens of kinds of cherries, but only some are edible. We get our cherries mostly from Kibbutz Ramat Rachel.

It is important to always choose firm cherries, with their stems still attached, fresh and green. Store cherries in the refrigerator, unwashed, in a plastic bag or container. This way it is possible to keep them for up to a week. It is also possible to rinse and freeze them, which lets you store them for up to a year.

Cherries contain high amounts of antioxidants such as lutein and beta-carotene. Antioxidants help the body fight the aging process, slow the processes of cancer, suppress allergies and strengthen the immune system. Also, cherries help strengthen blood vessels and therefore are recommended for those with hemorrhoids, varicose veins, varicocele and more.

The fruit contains plenty of pectin and vitamin C (especially the sour cherry) and anthocyanins and quercetin.

Research at Michigan State University in the US discovered that anthocyanins in cherries may be more effective for pain relief than aspirin, without the side effects of damage to the stomach and kidneys. It relieves arthritis and gout pain, and helps prevent tooth decay.

Research in the University of Texas found that cherry fruit has relatively large amounts of melatonin: 13.5 nanograms per gram of fruit. Melatonin optimizes the activity of antioxidants and is therefore more effective in a variety of medical problems such as sleep disorders, strengthening the immune system, preventing cancer and slowing the aging process. In the past, cherry bark was scalded to make a fluid used to treat colds and flu.

The cherry pit is used for making a spice called "mahleb" (Arabic: محلب). Some people grind the mahleb for seasoning of oriental foods or dough.

The beautiful ornamental cherry tree is called Sakura in Japanese. Sakura symbolizes the beautiful and transient nature of life, such as the cherry blossoms… and I will continue with that next week.