24th February: Cherries

February is Cherry Month. Here are some facts you might not know about cherries:

1. Cherries are part of the Rosaceae family which also includes Almonds, Peaches, Apricots and Plums. The cherries we eat are either Prunus avium, the sweet cherry or Prunus cerasus, the sour cherry.
2. The indigenous range of the sweet cherry extends through most of Europe, western Asia and parts of northern Africa. Cherry trees will not grow in a tropical climate because they have evolved a requirement for cold before the seeds can germinate. This ensured the shoots didn't appear till spring and wouldn't be killed off by winter frosts.
3. A cultivated cherry was brought to Rome by Lucius Licinius Lucullus from northeastern Anatolia, also known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC. A form of cherry was introduced into England by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.
4. The English word for cherry derives from the ancient Greek place name Cerasus, now the city of Giresun in northern Turkey. The French, Spanish and Turkish words for cherry derive from the same root.
5. Turkey is the number one cherry producing nation.
6. Cherries aren't as nutritious as many other types of fruit. In a 100g serving there are moderate amounts of fibre and Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals are present in quantities which supply less than 10% of the daily requirement.
7. You can make 28 cherry pies from the produce of one tree (a tree will produce 7,000 cherries on average and a pie needs 250).
8. The biggest cherry pie in the world was baked in Canada. A pie weighing 39,683 pounds was baked in Oliver, British Columbia.
9. The cherry was designated as the Official Fruit of Utah in 1997.
10. The world record for the longest spit of a cherry stone in competition is 93ft 6.5in by Brian Krause (USA) at the Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship at Eau Claire, Michigan, in 2003.