All cherries are members of the family, Prunus and are descendents of the wild cherry, Prunus avium. They are classified as stone fruits (fruits containing a singular central seed), alongside apricots, plums, peaches and almonds. The bing cherry is considered the benchmark standard of all cherries and it is the most cultivated variety of sweet cherries in the world. It is a grafted offspring of the now obscure heirloom Black Republican cherry, which mainly serves as a pollinator for other cherry varieties.

The bing cherry's surface is smooth and rounded, with a lustered deep red finish. The fruit's flavor is rich and concentrated with overt sweetness balanced by a touch of tang. It's flesh is firmly textured and juicy when ripe.

Serving Ideas

Bing cherries are best suited for fresh eating, canning or freezing. Their confectionary sweetness makes them a quintessential dessert ingredient during the summer months. Complimentary sweet pairings include vanilla, nutmeg, hazelnut, cinnamon, peaches, bramble berries, cream, marzipan, white and dark chocolate and powdered sugar. Savory pairings include almonds, apricots, citrus, herbs such as arugula basil and cilantro, pineapple, pork, scallop, duck, grilled fish, wine reductions, nut oils, mild creamy cheeses such as burrata and mascarpone, fennel and figs.

Geography/History

Cherries are native to China. First documentation of cultivation dates back to 4000 B.C. The bing cherry was first cultivated in 1875 by Seth Lewelling in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Lewelling named the cherry after Ah bing, a Manchurian Chinese immigrant who oversaw the production of the Lewelling family orchard for three decades and may have had a hand in the original grafting of the bing cherry trees. Bing cherry trees still thrive in the Willamette Valley and along the Pacific Coast from Washington to California. Under extreme weather conditions such as excess spring rainfall, the fruit will crack or split prior to harvest, damaging crops. Nature's weather elements alone don't prevent some cherries from making it to market. Birds can account for eating up to 30% of a tree's crop.