Cherry

A small, stoned fruit of the genus Prunus. Cherry pits have been found in the earliest human habitations. Theophrastus, the Greek "Father of Botany", described cherries in a book written about 300 BC, and Pliny, the Roman historian, mentioned 10 kinds of cherries favored by his countrymen. The ancient Chinese first cultivated cherries, but it was the Greeks and Romans who perfected the fruit. Grafting of cherry trees to develop superior fruit was a practice known in 50 BC. Cherry pie was first introduced in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and it has remained a favorite sweet with the English ever since, as it has in all other English-speaking countries.

Cherry trees were probably cultivated first in Asia Minor near the town of Cerasus, which loans its name to the cherry, or cerise. Cherries are grown on large trees with heavy foliage. Picking them is difficult because not all the fruit ripens at the same time. Japanese cherry trees do not produce the sweet variety found in produce markets but are grown for their beautiful blossoms. According to legend, a 5th-century Japanese emperor came to be in awe of the cherry blossoms when they floated into his sake cup while he was boating on a lake. He decided to enjoy his sake underneath the cherry trees every day after that. Even today, the Japanese annually rejoice at the arrival of spring in the blossoming cherry orchards.

Cherries are categorized into three groups: sweet for eating, sour for cooking, and hybrids for both eating and cooking, such as Dukes and Royals. In the U.S., the most popular sweet cherry is the Bing. It developed as a chance seedling from an older variety called the Republican, carried to Oregon in a covered wagon by a family of horticulturists named Lewelling. They named the Bing after a Chinese worker in their orchards. Some other varieties of cherries available are: Amarelle, Black Tartarian, Damasca or Ameresca, Early Richmond, Early Rivers, Maraschino, Montmorency, Morello and Royal Ann.

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