EDEN FOODS: Fruit Dried Cherry Montmorency, 4 oz

EDEN Montmorency Dried Tart Cherries are from 'transitional to organic' orchards that are in the process of becoming certified organic while using organic methods. Eden's cherries are grown near the east shore of northern Lake Michigan, an ideal and historic tree fruit producing area due to its seasonal lake effect. Almost a decade ago six families in this region asked Eden to help them convert their orchards to organic. These original orchards have now been managed organically for nine years and more orchards are being converted to organic each year.

Unlike most dried fruit, EDEN Dried Montmorency Tart Cherries contain no refined sugar or chemical additives of any kind.

Fresh picked cherries are cooled overnight in running water, then pitted and 'quick frozen'. Through this process they are inspected repeatedly, both visually and by machine. Later, the cherries are thawed and infused with organic EDEN Apple Juice until they reach a shelf-stable Brix or sweetness. Infused cherries are low heat dried then misted lightly with organic EDEN Safflower Oil to prevent clumping. Contains 1.4 milligrams of antioxidant anthocyanins per 45 gram serving. A healthy, sweet and pleasantly tart snack.

The Montmorency cherry is traditionally known as the 'pie cherry' and the 'healing cherry'. Where this cherry variety has been grown for generations, the locals attest to its abilities. A study at Michigan State University found the antioxidants anthocyanins and their anlyon cyanidin compounds in the pigment of the Montmorency cherry. They also found kaempferol, isoqueritrin, and quercetin. Research conducted at Brunswick Laboratories in Massachusetts and the Hollings Cancer Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina found that Montmorency cherries contain ellagic acid, a naturally occurring plant phenolic. Other compounds of note found in Montmorency cherries are perillyl alcohol and melatonin. Dr. Russell Reiter, of the University of Texas Health Science Center, said "We were surprised at how much melatonin was in cherries, specifically the Montmorency variety." Melatonin is soluble in both fat and water and can enter cells that many vitamins cannot.