Rainier Cherries: The Cherry Jubilee Is Here!

In my early twenties, I started a love affair with cherries. I was doing a six-week language program through my college in Tours, France, and my host family lived on a quiet street just uphill from the center of town. We ate our meals together sitting outside at a long table loaded with the quintessential French staples: red wine, fresh bread, cheese, butter, and lovely summer vegetables.

Then one night, we had Rainier cherries picked from the tree in their backyard for dessert. There was no special preparation, these were just freshly washed yellow cherries with a red blush, still dewy from rinsing. I ate one cherry and was instantly hooked; it was sweet, juicy, and crisp.

My Brain on Rainier Cherries

From then on, I stopped at the cherry tree every day after class to pick myself a snack. When I got home from France, I gave a new answer when people asked what I wanted to do after graduation.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I want to live somewhere where I can have a Rainier cherry tree.”

I don’t remember seeing Rainiers before my time in France, but twenty-two years later they’re available nationwide. I wish that we could include them in our FruitGuys fresh fruit delivery boxes for offices more often, but they’re quite delicate and don’t always ship well. Luckily there are plenty of other cherry options for workday snacking when Rainiers don’t work out.

The Cherry Jubilee From Coast to Coast

Out here in California, we’ve already featured dark red sweet cherries (including Tulare, Lapins, and Royal Tioga varieties) in our FruitGuys boxes this year. We’re sourcing them from California suppliers including Fruit World, King Fresh Produce, and The Flavor Tree Fruit Company. Washington cherries, which ship nationwide, haven’t started quite yet. Keep an eye out for them when their season gets going in mid-June. To keep the cherry train moving east, we’ll also have Pennsylvania cherry varieties like the Summit, Hartland, and Hudson from Kauffman Orchards around that time. We’re even hoping to ship their Rainier cherries.

The majority of the cherries we eat here in the US are grown in Washington, Oregon, or California, but cherries grow all across the country. Michigan actually produces the most tart cherries of any state, and they grow sweet cherries, too. Traverse City, Michigan, is even known as the “Cherry Capital of the World.”

Find More Cherries Near You

If you want to get your hands on more fresh cherries one way to do it is through a local U-pick orchard. This site has helped me find local U-pick options across the country. Wherever you are, fresh cherry season is short, often only a few weeks. So enjoy those cherries while you can! I don’t have my Rainier cherry tree yet, but I’ve got my eye on a spot at my brother’s house that I think will be just perfect.

Welcome to the Chief Banana newsletter—weekly letters from the desk of The FruitGuys’ CEO. Find more Chief Banana newsletters here. To get Chief Banana in your inbox every week, fill out the “Subscribe to our Newsletter” form on this page.