Cherries have long been in the human diet - Roman conquerors, Greek citizens and Chinese nobility all appreciated this tart and sweet furit. Cherries were brought to America by ship with early settlers in the 1600's. Modern day cherry production began in the mid-1800's, and cherry orchards flourished in the Northwest in the 70s' and 80's.
The most famous sweet cherry variety is the Bing cherry; this cherry variety got its name from one of Lewelling's Chinese workmen. Another sweet cherry variety is the Lambert, which also got its start on Lewelling Farms. The Rainier cherry, a light sweet variety, originated from the cross breeding of the Bing and Van varieties by Dr. Harold W. Fogle at the Washington State University Research Station in Prosser, Washington. The Bing, Lambert, and Rainier varieties together account for more than 95% of the Northwest sweet cherry production.
Today in the United States, more than 650 million pounds of tart and sweet cherries are harvested each year for commercial sales. Much of the cherry production is concentrated in Michigan and the Pacific Northwest. Oregon and Washington harvest about 60% of the sweet cherry crop, and Michigan grows about 75% of the tart cherry crop. Learn more at the Northwest Cherry Growers.
Source: History of Cherries by Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Science
Handouts:
- Fresh from the Farm Cherries brochure [PDF] with recipes, nutrition facts, and buying tips - from WSU SNAP-Ed
Washington Harvest Cherry Poster
Click to download the full-size PDF.
The poster is designed to be printed at either 11" x 17" or 2' x 3'.
Highlight Washington-grown cherries served in your program with this beautiful poster! The poster provides nutrition facts under "THRIVE", agriculture information under "GROW", and tips for preparation, cooking, and fun facts, etc. under "TASTE".
Special thanks to Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Department of Agriculture for sharing their poster file template, from which many of the food facts were adapted, and to Othello School District for helping us update and add new facts for Washington State.
