Door County Cherries - Health Benefits & History

Tart cherries offer these potential health benefits:
• Relieve the pain of arthritis, gout and headaches
• Up to 10 times more effective in fighting joint and
muscle inflammation than aspirin
• High in natural melatonin to improve sleep patterns
• Helps lower cholesterol
• Protect heart against disease, attacks or strokes
• Helps lower blood pressure
• Protect brain and neuromuscular systems
• Inhibit the growth of colon cancer tumors
• Helps fight and prevent certain chronic diseases
• Supports your immune system

“Tart cherries provide 25 milligrams of anthocyanins, which
help to shut down the enzymes that cause inflammation in the
first place, so cherries can prevent many kinds of pain.”
– Dr. Nair, professor, Michigan State University

Door County Cherries

The first Montmorency cherry orchard was planted on the peninsula in 1858. At the peak of its season in 1959, Door County was known as Cherryland USA and grew 95% of the tart cherry crop in the United States.

Orchard Country annually harvests an average of 350,000 lbs. Door County’s alkaline soil and shallow limestone deposits, proved to be well suited for growing fruit trees. This in combination with ideal weather conditions influenced by the waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay prevent early frost and creates gentle winds to ensure proper pollination in the spring.

Gone are the days when 12-15,000 hand pickers would migrate to Door County for the month of July to harvest. Today, a mechanical harvester shakes 7,000 cherries off an average tree in about 7 seconds.

That’s 60-100 trees per hour and enough cherries to make 28 pies or 30 bottles of wine.

Pick your own tart cherries are available during the season and fresh tart and sweet cherries are hand-picked for sale in our country market. 3 different fresh-pressed, pasteurized ciders and 16 award- winning wines are made utilizing this versatile fruit.