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Let’s Learn About Cherries!
The Gilroy Gardens Cherry Jubilee is a fruit-filled celebration of the local cherry harvest, open daily from June 6 to July 6 at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park. To get everyone in the spirit, let’s learn all about summer’s favorite fruit!
Here are 10 fun facts about cherries:
1. Cherries have been grown in Gilroy even longer than garlic.
Sure, Gilroy is known as the “Garlic Capital of the World.” But cherries have actually been growing here even longer than garlic—for over 110 years, in fact! Gilroy is part of the Santa Clara Valley, which used to be known as the “Valley of the Heart’s Delight” because it was filled with beautiful flowering fruit orchards (including cherries, apricots, pears, and prunes) as far as the eye could see.
2. There are still a lot of cherries grown in Gilroy.
Although you’ll find more houses than farms these days, there are still an estimated 1,000 acres of cherry trees growing in and around Gilroy—and that makes for a lot of cherries to harvest! To enjoy them fresh off the farm, visit one of Gilroy’s many fruit stands like Ralph’s Cherry Hut, the Very Merry Cherry Stand, The Cherry Shack, or LJB Farms. And don’t forget Casa de Fruta, the grand orchard resort that started out as a simple roadside cherry stand and now includes a restaurant, a candy shop, a merry-go-round, cool log cabins you can stay in, and even the Casa de Choo Choo train.
3. Farmers really have tried using monkeys to harvest their fruit!
The Cherry Jubilee character of Nannerz the mischievous monkey is based on real-life monkeys who, according to local legend, were hired by a farmer who was looking for a cheaper way to pick his crops. (This was long before machines had been invented to help make harvesting easier.) He’d heard about monkeys being trained to pick coconuts in tropical areas, so he imported 500 monkeys from Panama and let them scamper about his orchard. They did indeed pick all the juicy fruit—but promptly ate up his entire harvest!
4. Cherries can be sweet or tart—or somewhere in between.
Cherries are grouped into sweet cherries and tart cherries. Most of the cherries grown in California are sweet cherries, like Bing, and are perfect for eating fresh off the tree. Tart cherries are mostly grown in Michigan and Wisconsin. They’re a bit sour when eaten fresh, but hold their shape nicely when canned or baked into pies. There are dozens of cherry varieties, each with its own unique color, shape and flavor. Be sure to stop by the “Which Cherry Are You?” exhibit at the Cherry Jubilee to see which one best matches your own unique personality!
5. Cherries that are grown in California are enjoyed by people all over the world.
Cherries grown in California are shipped throughout the United States and even to other nations, including Canada, China, and Japan. To ship that far, cherries have to be harvested very carefully, then “hydrocooled” quickly using cold water. Then they’re packed into refrigerated shipping containers that keep them fresh for about two weeks.
6. You can get thousands of cherries from just one tree.
Did you know that a single mature cherry tree can produce up to 7,000 cherries in a single season? That’s about 100 pounds of cherries—which is enough to make at least 65 delicious cherry pies. Yum!
7. Many farmers today use machines to pick their cherries.
That farmer who once tried using monkeys would be amazed to know that today, a tree-shaking machine can harvest an entire cherry tree in just 7 seconds! The machine is designed to grip the trunk or branches, then shake just the right amount to knock off the ripe fruit so it falls below. Some shakers even have conveyor belts to move the collected produce to a truck or bin.
8. Cherries got their start long, long ago and far, far away.
The sweet cherry originally grew somewhere in Asia and was probably carried to Europe by birds. The Greeks were the first to plant cherry trees; later, the Romans planted them along roadsides and used the trees for both wood and fruit. Sweet cherries came to the U.S. with English colonists in the 1600s, and later were introduced to California by Spanish missionaries. In the 1800s, pioneers and fur traders brought sweet cherries westward to Washington, Oregon, and California.
9. Cherries have some interesting relatives.
You might not be too surprised to know that cherries are distant cousins to other tasty fruits like plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots. Those are all known as “stone fruits” because they have a sweet, juicy flesh that grows around a hard, inedible pit. But did you know that all those stone fruits are all part of the same family as roses?
10. Cherries are good for you!
It’s amazing to think that something so sweet and delicious as a cherry can be healthy too. In fact, fresh cherries are packed with good-for-you fiber, vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy and strong. Some cherries (especially tart varieties) may even help you sleep better at night. So help yourself to a handful of juicy red cherries today—and enjoy sweet dreams of all the fun you’ll have during the Gilroy Gardens Cherry Jubilee!