NW Michigan Food and Farming Network Report to the Community 2015 Report to the Community | Page 25

2015 Report to the community

Introducing Montmorency
Preserves Nouveau
Cherries go quickly
from tree to shelf
By Laura Ann Johnson
Cherry Republic
In 2014, Cherry Republic decided
to give itself and the farms it works
with a challenge: to see how fast they
could get a cherry from the tree to
the shelf.
Like almost all of Cherry Republic’s products, the story of Montmorency Preserves Nouveau begins in
the orchards of northern Michigan.
Dean and Gene Velliquette are two
of the biggest cherry farmers in the
country. They own or lease over
2,000 acres of land with their Cherry
Ke business.
The cherries seemed exceptionally ripe that season. Montmorencies were sizing small in early July,
so many farmers left the fruit on
the trees for a few extra days to see
if they’d fatten up. It worked. The
cherries in this orchard were perfect
in size, color, and flavor.
The longer the cherries are left
on the trees to ripen, the easier
they fall when the shakers come
through. The trees were bare after
the tractors were done with them.
It is always a balance of waiting as
long as possible for peak ripeness,
but risking a big rain or wind storm
cracking or bruising the fruit.
All together, the crew harvested
the cherries from about 45 trees to
make Cherry Republic’s Montmorency Preserves Nouveau. After the

Cherry Republic wanted to give itself and the farms it works with a challenge: How
fast could they get a cherry from the tree to the shelf? (Photo: Cherry Republic)

cherries were pitted, they had 3,240
pounds of cherries. That turned into
4,800 16 oz. jars of jam.
The cherries were rushed to the
cherry pitter on Tuesday. Cherry Republic jam makers came to work on
Wednesday with four tanks of freshly
pitted cherries waiting for them at
the factory.
And by noon, Cherry Republic
was placing still-hot jam on the store
shelves in Glen Arbor.
This is a testament to cooperation
and hard work within the cherry
industry. None of this would have
been possible without the farmers
like Gene and Dean and all the hardworking staff at Cherry Ke, TJ Keyes
at Triple D (they pitted the cherries),
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and finally, Cherry Republic staff
who planned and executed this new
product.
“This is a triumph for our little
company,” said Bob Sutherland,
Cherry Republic’s president. “We
work hard to get as close to the
orchard and as close to the taste of
fresh-picked cherries as possible.”
Putting new value-added food
products on store shelves and in
the hands of consumers is Cherry
Republic’s business. Sourcing the
products from the fields and orchards of northern Michigan and
keeping those farms operating is
their passion.
www.cherryrepublic.com