Super Fruit Bursts Out at Coronado Farmers Market

Remember those hard at work at Hopkins Ag farm back in February? They spent a month pollinating a lot of trees for us. And now, after more than three months of waiting, their final product is ready and selling fast at the farmers market.

Super fruit lovers can rejoice, for cherry season is here. A true sign of the imminent summer, cherries thrive in warm climates. But recent has one farmer a little worried about his next batch of cherries.

“The rain can easily ruin them,” said Darrin Hopkins, part of .

All of the cherries at the market are picked ripe on what is called a “field run.” Cherry pickers will go through the orchards and pick all of the cherries, so what you see is what you get. Last week, Hopkins Ag was selling their sweet Brooks variety and Erickson Farms was selling the Flavor Giant variety.

“Flavor Giant is a new variety,” market manager said. “Farmers keyed in on some things customers really like and made it into one cherry.”

Hillebrecht went on to say that Flavor Giants are super sweet and juicy, but have less of a “cherry flavor” than other varieties like Brooks.

Because cherries are picked when they’re ripe, different varieties will be available each week. Some varieties may last longer than others, depending on popularity, but expect most of these cherries to go fast. Both Hopkins Ag and Erickson Farms hope to have Rainier, those pretty yellow-splashed cherries, this week.

So why eat cherries? Besides their exceptional flavor that puts candy-flavored cherry to shame, cherries are one of the healthiest fruits out there—a super fruit, in fact. A super fruit is classified as one having high nutritional value, specifically high levels of antioxidants. Berries are the most common super fruits, but others include the highly popularized acai berry and .

While a cherry can’t crawl up the sides of buildings or fly at supersonic speeds, its super powers do include some amazing heart benefits. The high levels of anthocyanin that give the cherries their red color—like those !—are thought to help reduce body fat, lower your total body weight, inflammation and bad cholesterol (LDL), according to choosecherries.com. By reducing all of these factors, your risk for heart disease may be lowered.

Another great benefit of these juicy fruits? There are dozens of ways to enjoy them! Eating a handful as is for a snack or dessert is satisfying—just watch out for those pits! Local chef , from , suggests using them in savory dishes, not just desserts.

“You can put them in a salad or incorporate them in a risotto,” Gilchriest said. “Or you can make ‘drunken cherries’ and cook them down with some booze.”

If you’re feeling especially ambitious, Hopkins will give you his large bag of “duds,” or cherries that have started to go bad or were ruined by birds, for free.

“Duds will go to people who want to make cherry wine,” Hopkins said.

Be adventurous and buy cherries each week and find out which flavor you like best. Both Erickson Farms and Hopkins Ag sell half-pound bags for $4 and one-pound bags for $6. Be sure to eat quickly, as they’re perishable—not that you need any motivation to gobble this super fruit down.

“There’s no wax on these, so they’re super perishable,” Hopkins said. “They’ll be bad in about a week. If the stem is still green, they’re good.”