Michigan State Fruit: The Tart Cherry Worth Fighting For
If you’ve ever bitten into a Michigan tart cherry, you know it’s not like any other fruit. That first burst of sour-sweet juice, bright red and absolutely electric on your tongue, is something you don’t forget. And yet, despite being the undisputed cherry capital of the entire country, Michigan has been dragging its feet on making the tart cherry its official state fruit.
Let’s fix that perception right now. The tart cherry is Michigan’s fruit, plain and simple. Michigan is the leading grower of tart cherries in the world, with nearly 70% of those grown in the United States in 2024 coming from the state. The Traverse City region alone accounts for more than half of Michigan’s annual crop. If that’s not a slam dunk for state fruit status, nothing is.
What Is the Michigan State Fruit?
Here’s where things get interesting. Michigan doesn’t technically have an official state fruit on the books right now. Michigan is one of the few states without an official state fruit, though the blueberry has been considered as a competing candidate. But back in 1897, the Michigan legislature passed a resolution recognizing the tart cherry’s importance to the state. And in 2024, State Sen. John Damoose introduced Senate Bill 1003 to formally designate the cherry as Michigan’s official state fruit once and for all.
The bill was sent to the Senate Government Operations Committee, and plenty of Michiganders are pushing to see it through. Considering that Michigan tart cherries bring in hundreds of millions of dollars annually and support thousands of farming families across the state, the designation feels long overdue.
Introduction to State Symbols
Michigan takes pride in its official state symbols, each representing a unique aspect of the state’s identity as the Great Lakes State. The state has designated numerous symbols over the years: the Petoskey stone as the official state stone, the brook trout as the state fish, the white-tailed deer as the state mammal, the robin as the state bird, the apple blossom as the state flower, and the painted turtle as the state reptile. Each of these symbols reflects something essential about Michigan’s natural heritage and character. The gap in Michigan’s official symbols has been the absence of a state fruit, a designation that cherry advocates argue should go to the tart cherry.
Why Tart Cherries Thrive in Michigan
The secret to Michigan’s cherry success comes down to geography. The state sits along the shores of Lake Michigan, and those massive bodies of water create a microclimate that’s practically custom-built for cherry growing. The lake effect moderates temperatures in spring, protecting delicate cherry blossoms from late frosts. It also keeps summer heat from getting too intense, giving the fruit time to develop that signature tart flavor.
The sandy, well-drained soils along the northwestern Lower Peninsula are ideal for cherry tree roots. Kalkaska sand, Michigan’s official state soil, is particularly well-suited for cherry cultivation. The Fruit Belt region, stretching from Benton Harbor up through Traverse City and into the Leelanau Peninsula, produces the bulk of Michigan’s crop. Between Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties alone, you’ll find orchards stretching as far as the eye can see. Michigan grows both tart and sweet cherry varieties, though the tart cherry is what made the state famous.
Traverse City: The Cherry Capital of the World
You can’t talk about Michigan tart cherries without talking about Traverse City. This lakeside town in the northwestern Lower Peninsula has proudly called itself the Cherry Capital of the World for over a century, and it’s earned every bit of that title.
Every July, Traverse City hosts the National Cherry Festival, a week-long celebration that draws over 500,000 visitors each year. You’ll find cherry pit spitting contests, cherry pie eating competitions, live music, parades, and more cherry-themed events than you can count. The festival has been running since the 1920s, making it one of the longest-running agricultural festivals in the country.
But the cherry culture in Traverse City isn’t limited to one week a year. Local farms offer U-pick cherry experiences from late June through early August, and you’ll find cherry-infused everything at restaurants and shops around town. Cherry salsa, cherry barbecue sauce, dried cherry trail mix, cherry wine. If it can be made with cherries, someone in Traverse City is making it.
Michigan Tart Cherry Season and Harvest
Tart cherry season in Michigan runs from late June through early August, with the peak harvest hitting in July. The Montmorency variety, which accounts for the vast majority of Michigan’s tart cherry production, ripens during this narrow window. Timing is everything. Growers watch the weather obsessively, because a single late frost or a week of heavy rain can devastate an entire year’s crop.
Harvest happens fast once the cherries are ready. Mechanical shakers grab the tree trunks and vibrate the fruit loose onto catching frames below. A single shaker can harvest an entire tree in about 10 seconds. The cherries are then quickly cooled and processed, because tart cherries are incredibly perishable. Most of the crop, around 97%, ends up frozen, dried, juiced, or canned rather than sold fresh.
The Montmorency Cherry: Michigan’s Star Variety
When people talk about Michigan tart cherries, they’re almost always talking about the Montmorency. This bright red variety has been the backbone of Michigan’s cherry industry for generations. It’s perfectly balanced between sour and sweet, with a flavor that intensifies when cooked or dried.
Montmorency cherries are smaller than the sweet Bing cherries you’d find in the produce aisle. They’re lighter red, firmer, and considerably more tart when eaten raw. But cook them into a pie filling, reduce them into a sauce, or dry them for snacking, and they transform into something extraordinary. That bright, tangy cherry flavor you associate with cherry pie? That’s Montmorency through and through. The Montmorency tart cherry is known for its high levels of disease-fighting antioxidants compared to other fruits.
Health Benefits of Michigan Tart Cherries
Tart cherries aren’t just delicious. They’re packed with compounds that have some serious health benefits. The Montmorency variety contains high levels of anthocyanins, the antioxidant pigments responsible for their deep red color. Compared to sweet cherries, tart varieties contain up to 20 times more vitamin A and significantly higher antioxidant levels overall.
Research has shown that tart cherry consumption can help reduce inflammation, improve sleep quality, and speed muscle recovery after exercise. Studies published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that athletes who drank tart cherry juice experienced significantly less muscle soreness after intense workouts. Other research has linked tart cherry consumption to improved sleep duration, thanks to naturally occurring melatonin in the fruit.
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How Michigan Tart Cherries Are Used
Because 97% of Michigan’s tart cherry crop is processed rather than sold fresh, these little fruits show up in an incredible variety of products. Cherry pie is the classic, of course. A proper Michigan cherry pie uses Montmorency tart cherries with just enough sugar to balance the sourness, and the result is leagues beyond anything made with canned filling.
But pie is just the beginning. Michigan tart cherries are dried and sold as snacking cherries, turned into juice and concentrate, made into preserves and jams, and used in everything from trail mix to barbecue sauce. Tart cherry juice has become a popular wellness drink, showing up in smoothie shops and health food stores across the country. Cherry wine and cherry-infused craft beers are big in northern Michigan too.
For the home cook, dried Michigan tart cherries are incredibly versatile. Toss them into oatmeal, fold them into scone batter, add them to a cheese board, or simmer them into a pan sauce for pork or duck. Their bright acidity cuts through rich flavors beautifully.
Michigan’s Cherry Industry by the Numbers
The numbers behind Michigan’s tart cherry industry are genuinely impressive. The state produces around 200 to 300 million pounds of tart cherries in a strong year, harvested from approximately 35,000 acres of orchards. That production is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars annually and supports thousands of jobs across the state.
Michigan’s cherry farms range from small family operations to large commercial orchards spanning hundreds of acres. Many of these farms have been in the same families for three, four, even five generations. The cherry industry isn’t just an economic engine for Michigan. It’s a way of life that connects communities across the state’s western and northern regions.
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Challenges Facing Michigan’s Tart Cherry Growers
It’s not all sunshine and cherry blossoms for Michigan’s growers. The tart cherry industry has faced serious challenges in recent years. Unpredictable weather patterns, including late spring frosts and summer storms, can wipe out significant portions of the crop. Climate change is making these weather events more frequent and more severe.
International competition, particularly from Turkey and Eastern Europe, has also put pressure on prices. Imported tart cherry concentrate can undercut domestic prices, making it harder for Michigan growers to compete. The USDA has occasionally stepped in with marketing orders to help stabilize the industry, but it remains a tough business.
Despite these challenges, Michigan’s cherry growers are resilient. Many have diversified into agritourism, offering U-pick experiences, farm tours, and on-site shops that sell cherry products directly to consumers. Others have invested in value-added products like cherry juice concentrate, dried cherries, and frozen cherry products that command higher margins.
Visiting Michigan’s Cherry Country
If you’re planning a trip to Michigan cherry country, timing matters. Cherry blossom season typically hits in mid-to-late May, when the orchards around Traverse City erupt in a sea of white and pink. It’s stunning, and it makes for incredible photos. The actual fruit harvest runs from late June through early August, with July being the prime time for U-pick adventures.
Beyond the National Cherry Festival in July, there are plenty of ways to experience Michigan’s cherry culture. Farm markets throughout the Traverse City and Leelanau Peninsula areas sell fresh cherries, cherry pies, cherry wine, and every other cherry product imaginable. Black Star Farms, Gallagher’s Farm Market, and dozens of smaller operations welcome visitors throughout the season.
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The Push to Make It Official
The movement to officially designate the cherry as Michigan’s state fruit has been gaining momentum. Senate Bill 1003, introduced in 2024, has broad support from cherry growers, agricultural organizations, and everyday Michiganders who believe this recognition is long overdue. Senate Bill 1003 is supported by a bipartisan group of legislators, including John Cherry of Warren, Paul Wojno, Joe Bellino, Jonathan Lindsey, Dan Lauwers, Kevin Daley, Sam Singh, Mike Webber of Harbor Springs, R Bronson, R Brockway Township, R Monroe, R Lum, D Royal Oak, D East Lansing, D Flint, D East Lansing, and R Rochester Hills.
Michigan already has a state stone (Petoskey stone), a state fish (brook trout), a state wildflower (dwarf lake iris), and a state reptile (painted turtle). Adding the tart cherry to that list just makes sense. No other fruit is as deeply woven into Michigan’s identity, economy, and culture. The cherry orchards that line the hills around Traverse City aren’t just farms. They’re a living part of what makes Michigan, Michigan.
State Recognition
Michigan’s identity as the Great Lakes State is reflected in many of its official symbols and agricultural products. Beyond the tart cherry, the state is known for wild rice harvested from its northern waters, apples grown throughout the state, and other specialty crops that thrive in the Great Lakes climate. The push to officially recognize the tart cherry as the state fruit builds on Michigan’s heritage of celebrating the natural abundance that defines the region. While other states have also considered similar designations for competing candidates, few can match the tart cherry’s significance to Michigan’s economy, culture, and agricultural legacy.