The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history of basket weaving and cherry fun facts. As we research for our daily content we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just didn’t know.

We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”

For today’s Did You Know we will look at Cherry fun facts.

Cherry Fun Facts: Cherries are drupes, or stone fruits, and are related to plums, peaches and nectarines.

  • It is believed that the sweet cherry originated in the area between the Black and Caspian Seas in Asia Minor around 70 B.C. The Romans introduced them to Britain in the first century A.D.
  • The English colonists brought cherries to North America in the 1600’s.
  • 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.
  • British Columbia, Canada holds the record for the largest cherry pie at 39,683 lbs. (Adam)
  • Records indicate that cherries were a prized food in a region of China dating back to 600 BC – fit for royalty and cherished by locals.
  • There are more than 1,000 varieties of cherries in the United States, but fewer than 10 are produced commercially.
  • On average, there are about 44 cherries in one pound.
  • In an average crop year, a sweet cherry tree will produce 800 cherries.
  • While they have long been a popular dessert fruit, cherries were used for their medicinal purposes in the 15th and 16th centuries.
  • Despite the short fruiting season, Americans consume an average of 1.5 pounds of cherries each year.
  • The world’s heaviest cherry was grown by Gerardo Maggipinto (Italy) and weighed 0.76 oz on June 21, 2003.

Key Dates

  • January 3rd is National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day.
  • February 22nd is National Cherry Pie Day.
  • April 23rd is National Cherry Cheesecake Day.
  • May 17th is National Cherry Cobbler Day.
  • May 26th is National Cherry Dessert Day.
  • August 28th is National Cherry Turnover Day.
  • September 24th is National Cherries Jubilee Day.

Cherry Fun Facts We May Have Missed

If you know of any cherry fun facts fact let us know in the comment section or our food truck forum. We always love to add to these lists. If we can verify the information we will give the reader credit in the article.

Reference: Fun Facts about Cherries

There is a National Food Holiday for almost every day of the year. Don’t miss a single one! Find all of the National Food Holidays to spice up your food truck menu specials throughout the year.