Shoppers pack into Kilwin's of Michigan, which proffers fat slabs of fudge, and the Cherry Stop boutique, stocked with cherry pie, cherry-pepper jam, cherry-scented candles, cherry-chipotle sauce, cherry body lotion, cherry cookbooks and aprons bearing bold cherry prints.
Most people are familiar with sweet cherries, but sour cherries, also known as pie cherries, have an almost cultlike following.
The cherry pie surprised us because it was made with sweet Bing cherries rather than tart pie cherries; still, it was a winner, enhanced by a buttery crust.
The award-winning cherry wine, made with Colorado-grown Montmorency pie cherries, is a walloping sweet-tart treat.
When I visited this fall, the air was redolent with Montmorency pie cherries finishing their mash in a chilled steel tank.
It has been 40 years since Mr. Talmage — a philosophy student — left behind academia to move here to start White Buffalo Farm, which grows organic peaches, apples and pie cherries.
Regional eats include the Ozette, a fingerling-shaped Spanish potato; the Geoduck, a clam-flavored mollusk; the Pluot, a cross between a plum and apricot, and of course, small, sour pie cherries, perfect for baking.
And though sweet cherries have become commonplace, sours, which are also called tart or pie cherries, are hardly grown here at all.
Add a bit more sugar to the fruit mixture if the fruit is sour, for example using sour (pie) cherries.
You can't get more American than apple pie, and the midwest is the centre of production – as well as blueberry pies, persimmon pies, rhubarb pies, cherry pies … if they grow it, it's fair game for breakfast.
