rainier cherries

Ranking high in my list of favorite summertime fruits, these delicate cherries are a combination of two sweet cherry varieties which are more common and less expensive, the Bing and Van cherries. The best ones are grown in Washington state but they’re also grown in California. Based on the information I found online, I learned that Rainier cherries are very difficult and risky to grow. The environment must be almost perfect for them. I wonder if they can be successfully grown in climate-controlled greenhouses for better conditions, or if they can apply the same modern farming technology and hydroponic farming methods they use for growing identical looking fruits and produce in Holland. They grow the most amazing bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, strawberries, etc. looking almost like plastic, perfect skins, colors, etc. especially since the fragile thin skins of the Rainier cherries have a tendency to bruise easily. They also had to be handpicked carefully at a certain ideal time of day. Too much heat will cause them to deteriorate fast. Once you bring them home from the market, they’re best eaten immediately, and will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Finding out more information about them somehow justified their expensive cost, definitely the priciest of summertime fruits, often selling for as high as $6 per pound, which isn’t a lot of fruit by the way. But it’s hard to ignore this sweet and delicious seasonal fruit. Even at a price higher than that, I would not hesitate to grab a box or two of them before they disappear from the scene again, if or when they show up in the grocery. Another summertime fruit treat worth patiently waiting for and savoring.

a very refreshing combination of sweet and juicy watermelon and rainier cherries