We asked our readers what their favorite Northern Michigan cherry products are and we got some delicious answers. And what better time of year to enjoy these treats than during National Cherry Festival! Of course, you can enjoy these goodies year-round, too.
Cherries Moobilee Ice Cream | Moomers
Cherries Moobilee is a legend, not just in Northern Michigan, but also around the nation, as proven by Good Morning America voters and Rachel Ray and others. We asked ice cream flavor chief Jon Plummer how the dark-cherry-chocolate-brownie-swirl cold and creamy delight came to be. Here’s what he revealed.
“Back in the early days of Moomers, Dad was making ice cream and he had some brownies left over and he just threw them into a batch of black cherry ice cream and added some fudge chocolate swirl and then put it in the freezer. It didn’t have a name or anything. And we ate it and really liked it. So we had a naming contest and the winner won a shirt. Then, when we won the Good Morning America vote in 2008, they said, ‘What are you the home of, what ice cream.’ We could have said butter pecan, because our butter pecan is better than anybody’s. But we thought, we are the cherry capital of the world. Let’s support the cherry industry, so we chose Cherries Moobilee. So after Good Morning America, it instantly went from us making four or five batches a year of Cherries Moobilee to four to five batches a week and sometimes in summer three or four batches a day!”
Need to know info: Moomers makes small-batch custom flavors! Just tell them the ingredients to put in and then take home a half-gallon, complete with a label sporting the name you thought up.
Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries | Cherry Republic
A beloved classic!
Cherry Crumb Pie | Grand Traverse Pie Company
It’s the “Signature Pie” of the National Cherry Festival!
Original Cherry Salsa | Cherry Republic
Just the right amount of sweetness and spice. (Mild and hot also available.)
Cherry Pie | Cherry Hut
This cherry pie recipe has been perfected over the past 95 years—it’s good.
Sour Cherry Patches | Cherry Republic
Super-sour and fabulous—all ages agree.
Cherry BBQ GRILLING SAUCE | American Spoon
Spread on grilled chicken, lamb, or even brats!
Cherry Bounce Liqueur | Northern Latitudes Distillery
Made with Leelanau tart cherries (this is a seasonal product, so call ahead to check availability).
Black Cherry Cream Soda | Northwoods soda
Summer in a bottle.
Cherry Almond Butter | Cherry Republic
Chunky, tart and nutty. Slather it on toast and pancakes.
Find more Red Hot Best winners in the June issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine and online.