Organic Montmorency tart cherries infused with organic apple juice concentrate and slowly dried. No refined sugar or sulfites added. A good source of fiber, low sodium, and fat free. They contain 1.4 milligrams of antioxidant anthocyanins per 45 gram serving.
MORE DETAILS
Eden Organic Dried Cherries are from the northeast shore of Lake Michigan, an excellent area for fruit trees because of a strong seasonal lake effect. In the mid-1990s six families in the area asked Eden to help convert their orchards to organic. These orchards are now managed organically and produce the most delicious tart cherries that we have ever experienced.
Fresh cherries are cooled overnight in running water, pitted, and quick frozen. They are carefully inspected and sorted, both visually and by machine. The pitted cherries are later thawed and infused with organic apple juice concentrate to a targeted 'Brix' or sweetness. The infused cherries are rinsed, low heat dried, and misted with organic Eden Safflower Oil to keep them from clumping. They require no refrigeration.
History
The happy red Montmorency tart cherry Prunus cerasus has delighted for centuries. It is a cultivated sour cherry that was selected from wild cherry varieties of Northern Europe about a thousand years ago. Tart cherries also came from wild varieties in the Caspian and Black Sea areas and were popular in Greece before 300 BC. They were well liked by the Persians and Romans of old, and are popular in Iran today. Montmorency is the most popular of tart cherry varieties. The tree was named after the Montmorency valley in France, famous for its cherries. Colonist brought cherries to America in the 1600s and the French planted Montmorency tart cherries along the St. Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes, the leading tart cherry producing region in North America today.
Nutrition Facts
Montmorency cherries are traditionally known as the 'pie cherry' and the 'healing cherry'. In areas where it has been grown for generations, locals attest to its beneficial properties. A Michigan State University study found the antioxidants anthocyanins and their anlyon cyanidin compounds in the pigment of the Montmorency cherry. They also found kaempferol, isoqueritrin, and quercetin. Research conducted at Brunswick Laboratories in Massachusetts and the Hollings Cancer Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina found that Montmorency cherries contain ellagic acid, a naturally occurring plant phenolic. All of these are powerful antioxidants. Other compounds of note in Montmorency cherries are perillyl alcohol and melatonin. Dr. Russell Reiter, of the University of Texas Health Science Center, said "We were surprised at how much melatonin was in cherries, specifically the Montmorency variety." Melatonin is soluble in both fat and water and can enter cells that many vitamins cannot.
Organic Eden Dried Montmorency Tart Cherries are a versatile, sweet and pleasantly tart snack, but there's no need limiting them to snacking. Leave whole or coarsely chop and use them in baking breads, cakes, and muffins, in pie fillings and puddings, and in grain and bread stuffing. They brighten salads and are great with hot or cold cereals. Use them when making granola, muesli, granola bars, popcorn balls, and caramel corn.
