In Japan no other tree is revered quite so much as the cherry tree. The Japanese have celebrated this tree with the ‘cherry blossom festival’ for over 1000 years. The cultivated variety originally came from Asia Minor, and especially from the area surrounding the Black Sea. From there, the Romans then took it to North and Central Europe.

Cherries are stone fruits, with a distinction made between sweet and sour varieties. They are both part of the rose family (Rosaceae), however. Today, sweet cherries are cultivated in temperate zones around the world. Four fifths of global production meanwhile comes from Europe.