Ten Amazing Facts About Cherries You Won’t Believe Are Real

These little fruits from the genus of Prunus are often seen as something of an Aphrodisiac, but they are also surrounded by amazing and interesting facts. I have done my homework and found ten of the most interesting facts about cherries and some of them are simply amazing…

FACT 1: No-one Knows For Sure Where Cherries Originated From!

It is believed that the sweet cherry (the most common variety of cherries) originated in the area between the Black and Caspian Seas in Asia Minor around 70 B.C. But no-one knows for sure as there are so many different varieties it could have grown from.

FACT 2: Cherries Are Named After a City

The word ‘cherry’ comes from the French word ‘cerise,’ which in turn comes from the Latin words cerasum and Cerasus, the classical name of the modern city Giresun in Turkey.

FACT 3: There Are Thousands of Varieties of Cherries

While less than 10 are produced commercially there are thousands of varieties of cherries that grow in the wild in places found all over the world and in all weathers and climates.

FACT 4: The Worlds Heaviest Cherry Weights 23.93 Grams

Grown by Chile resident FrutÍCola Patagonia on the 1st of February 2019 and it weighed 23.93 g (0.84 oz) and measured 30 mm (1.18 in). If you know your cherries you will know that is MASSIVE!

FACT 5: The Most Expensive Box of Cherries Cost £20,056

Sold at a children’s charity event by Sydney Markets in Australia) it was sold for $35,000 Australian Dollars ($31,771 Usd, £20,056) and it worked out at over £500 per cherry!

FACT 6: Cherries Belong to the Rose Family

Its not just cherries that are part of this crop plant family, it also includes apples, pears, quinces, medlars, loquats, almonds, peaches, apricots, plums, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries

FACT 7: Cherries Helped Win Wars

It was one of the main rations given to soldiers as they travelled throughout the New Roman Empire. In fact, you can still find old Roman roads simply by following the wild cherry trees because the soldiers would spit the pits out into the long grass to cover their tracks.

FACT 8: America Grows 94% of The Worlds Cherries

Washington alone grows an estimated 62% of the world’s cherries but throw in Oregon and California and you have 94% of all the cherries grown from around the world.

FACT 9: Cherry Pip Spitting is a Real Sport!

Not only are there regional finals in America, but there are also national ones and it is considered to be quite a professional sport. The longest cherry spit in a competition is 28.51 m (93 ft 6.5 in) by Brian “Young Gun” Krause from Michigan, USA

FACT 10: Cherries Can Kill You!

This isn’t about people being allergic to cherries because some people are and a single cherry could kill them. I am telling you that EVERYONE would die if you eat them in large qualities because a cherry has small trace amounts of hydrogen cyanide which is lethal at about 1.52 milligrams per kilogram. That would mean you would have to eat 1000kg of cherries to die, but it is possible. In fact, some people have been known to get ill after eating just a few boxes of them.