Cherries are a delicious and popular fruit, but unlike most fruits, they don't usually get cheaper when they are in season. Cherries are expensive all year round, if you can even find them. There are multiple reasons for the high price. One reason cherries are always so expensive is because they are a short-season crop.
Sweet cherries are only grown in California, Oregon, and Washington, where the season runs for approximately three to four months. This creates a higher demand, as people know cherries won't be in season for long and want to buy fresh, in-season cherries while they can via The Produce Nerd.
The combination of such a short growing season and the geographic limitations of where cherries are grown which leads to higher production costs as they have to be transported all over the country allow cherry growers to charge a higher price via The Produce Nerd. As America is spread form warmer to colder zones, the southern zones will bloom and fruit first.
This means that cherries can be picked from late April all the way into August. But even a smart harvesting method like that can only go so far. You might find imported Turkish cherries though, but not in the middle of winter. This is common for all seasonal fruits and vegetables. Take a look at asparagus , for example. When spring rolls around, you can find quite a bit of asparagus. Fresh, raw asparagus bunches in the produce aisle.
Cherries are roughly the same. And since they spoil easily not like strawberries though , they need to be sold close to the farms, or taken very quickly to the supermarkets all across the country.
Read also: Best Cherry Substitutes. Once your crop produces its first fruits or veggies , pests will come from all over and snack on your hard work. Crows are the worst offenders, as they will eat the planting seeds.
No crops there. Back to cherries, they come from the same tree year after year, no no planting seeds are lost there. But the seeds pits found inside the fresh fruit are often picked right off the tree.
What birds? To be honest, there are a lot of birds that can eat fruit. They could charge this much because no other stores were carrying cherries and they have a consumer base that is used to paying more to shop there.
Even with the high prices, there is a marketing trick that is sometimes used to help with the adjustment period. According to an interview in The Packer , the most common packaging is a 2 pound bag. However, at the start of the season, some packers start out selling 1. The cherry crop alternates in volume each year because cherry trees do not produce heavy yields every year.
I n addition to predicted fluctuations, there can also be temperature fluctuations. This varies each year, but some examples include: the weather warming earlier than expected, frosts and rains late in the season that affect fruit development and caused freeze damage. When rains come during cherry bloom, they affect pollination and fruit set. I have a post from the growing season you can read it HERE , showing how the unexpected rainy conditions during the start of the season resulted in great damage to the entire California cherry crop that season.
I am one of those people that go to multiple grocery stores looking for the best quality produce and the best prices. Historically, I have had the best bet with cherries at Costco.
I experience less quality issues and almost always am paying a lower price than compared to traditional grocery stores. Another place you could visit are local produce markets or produce stands. Regardless of where you buy your cherries, I suggest going and getting some because the short-season will be over before you know it!
Cherries are one of my favorite fruits, so during the peak season I purchase them the entire season. This year they were perfectly plump, juicy and sweet. I like mine cold from the fridge, great snack on a hot summer day. Great information! Thank you again for the great insight into this cherry season. Wow 1.
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