Source: Cherry Marketing Institute

Without cherries -- fresh, frozen or dried -- cooking in northern Michigan wouldn't be the same. Northwest Michigan, on the shore of Lake Michigan, is the cherry capital of the world. Visitors from throughout this country and abroad visit the area around Traverse City each summer during cherry season.

Tish Williams, prize-winning journalist, cookbook author and well-known Michigan cooking teacher, has been enamored with cherries since she moved to the state nearly 30 years ago. And after moving to cherry country five years ago, she has made a special effort to use cherries in every conceivable way.

"Cherries, particularly dried ones, are at the top of my 'must have' list of cooking ingredients," Tish say. "They're right up there with good things like virgin olive oil, mustards and good vinegars. Good ingredients make good cooking better. I put dried cherries in many salads, bake them with sweet potatoes or squash and use them in all kinds of breads, scones, cookies and muffins."

And to make sure the word about cherries gets around, she sends them to her children and friends who live in other states. She and her husband, George, took five pounds of dried cherries to Great Britain when they traveled there last year. They were given to chefs in bed and breakfasts, country houses and on a Thames River barge trip.

Williams is author of "Recipes and Remembrances," a collection of 250 recipes. The book is available from Aberystwyth Books, 3693 S. Bay Bluffs, Cedar, MI 49621.

Here is a cherry treat from "Recipes and Remembrances." This is a National Cherry Festival prize-winning recipes.