Bruce Ingram photo
Celebrating the sweet and sour
Frank Levering picking cherries from one of his Montmorency trees, which he considers the premier sour cherry producer in America.
“Quaker hippy” is how Frank Levering describes his Grandfather Ralph, who in 1908 founded an apple orchard in the mountains of Carroll County, Virginia, not far from what would become the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ralph held a law degree from Columbia University and was a social justice Christian.
“I think my family has been unusual in that although we’ve all been farmers and orchardists, we’ve all had outside interests and part of that is a calling to serve our fellow man,” Frank says.
“The Quakers were the first Christian denomination to denounce slavery, and my grandfather was very much interested in helping others. Sam, my father, was a peace activist and was heavily involved with the United Nations Law of the Seas Treaty that was created to help protect the world’s oceans from pollution.”
Through it all, the orchard remained.
Bruce Ingram photo
Celebrating the sweet and sour
A close up of a Balaton cherry—one of the most popular sour cherry varieties.
To expand their fruit offerings, the family began raising cherries in the mid-1960s. And those glistening red fruits are why my wife Elaine and I have come. We’re visiting during sour cherry season … that time in late May to early June when the sweet cherry trees have largely shed their fruit, and the tart trees are in their prime bearing stage. As Frank shepherds us down a lane to his orchard, we can’t wait to start picking.
“Sour cherries are so much more popular with the public than sweet ones,” Frank says as we arrive at a Montmorency tree, which is a heritage variety with its origins in France.
“We keep on planting more and more sour cherry trees, especially this variety, but we still can’t keep up with the demand,” he said.
“A Montmorency is tart, of course, but it’s not the tartest variety. If you put them in a pie, cobbler, or any kind of baked good, that mixture of sugar and tartness is a divine combination.
“When I was a kid growing up in the 1960s and 70s, we couldn’t give away sour cherries. This past Sunday, we had people from Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Northern Virginia, and D.C., and they were largely here for the Montmorency. This is the king of sour cherries,” he noted.
Another virtue is that Montmorency consistently produces yearly crops even if a late frost occurs, making it a valuable tree for the backyard grower, as well.
Our next stop is at a Balaton, a sour variety that comes from Hungary.
“Even when they are good and ripe, a Balaton is ultra tart,” Frank says. “I love this variety; it’s a great cherry. But if you are trying to make a living off cherries or have a small backyard with room for only a few trees, Balatons are not a good choice. One reason why is that they don’t produce as well as other sour cherry varieties such as the Montmorency, especially if a late freeze hits. You can often stand in one place and pick a bucketful of Montmorency. You can’t often do that with a Balaton.
Yet, the Balaton has fans.
“Glen and Linda, a couple from Columbia, South Carolina, email me every spring wanting to know if the Balatons have started to ripen. To folks like that, it’s not sour cherry season until a Balaton starts to ripen.”
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Bruce Ingram photo
Celebrating the sweet and sour
Cherry Crisp right out of Elaine’s oven.
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Bruce Ingram photo
Celebrating the sweet and sour
The author’s grandson Sam picking North Star cherries from a backyard tree.
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Bruce Ingram photo
Celebrating the sweet and sour
Mentioning them causes Frank to reflect on the many customers he has come to regard as friends.
“We have such a wonderful, loyal customer base,” he says. “We also raise apples and every fall we have a woman from Greensboro, North Carolina, who comes here for a bushel of Lodis, which she makes applesauce from. Another really popular apple variety here that has fans is the Albemarle Pippin, a heritage variety. One of our trees is around 100 years old. The friendships we’ve made over the years and the passions people have for certain varieties of apples and cherries are special and important to us.”
We’re off to the section of the orchard where the Jubileum cherry grows. Elaine and I are not familiar with this variety. We want to know more.
“The Jubileum is our earliest ripening variety,” Frank says. “It’s got some sweetness to it, unlike our other varieties. A Jubileum’s appearance is also part of its appeal—a really dark red, almost black color. I bought 15 of them in 2025, but should have purchased more. I consider the Jubileum the best sour cherry for eating out of hand.
“You know how some people make pies out of strawberries and rhubarb because of that sweet and tart combination? Jubileum pies offer that same delightful sweet and tart dynamic, which is a beautiful thing to experience,” he said.
On our tour, a question arises. Why did Ralph Levering select this particular parcel of land, half way up a mountain, to establish his orchard?
“The thermal belt effect,” Frank said. “It’s a concept that on cold, still nights, the top of the mountain will be cold, and there will be a stable air flow on the bottom that will also be cold. But in the middle, where our orchard is, the temperature will be two or three degrees warmer than anywhere else.
“My grandfather studied all this, then walked across some 300 miles of land before he settled on this place. Some years, two or three degrees of temperature can make a big difference on whether a fruit crop fails or is successful.”
The other sour cherry variety that Levering raises is the North Star, a variety that we have raised for some 25 years.
“The North Star is a denser, crunchier cherry is the way I describe it,” he says. “The Montmorency, for example, has a much softer texture and the seed just pops right out. With a North Star, you have to work to get the seed out. But the North Star is a great baking cherry and is a good choice for a backyard grower.”
Our tour complete, and with the Jubileum season over and North Star cherries in our freezer, Elaine and I pick two quarts from a Montmorency and one quart from a Balaton. All that’s left is the drive home, the pitting, and to start using the following recipes that Frank shares with us.
Bruce Ingram photo
Celebrating the sweet and sour
Elaine making Cherry Oatmeal Muffins from North Star berries.
Sweet Cherry Varieties
Levering Orchard also grows sweet cherry trees. Frank says the Black Gold is particularly popular with customers. This is a self-pollinating variety that bears well. Another tree of note is the Ranier which produces orange fruit and features a “tangy zip” according to Levering. For ripening dates and more information, visit leveringorchard.com
Below are some of the recipes that Frank Levering shared with Elaine. She used North Star cherries from our trees for the muffins one, but, of course, any sour cherry will perform well in any of these recipes.
Cherry Oat Muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cultured buttermilk
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1 large egg beaten
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flower
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup pitted tart cherries, minced
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease twelve 2 ½-inch muffin tins.
Pour buttermilk into large bowl. Stir in oats. Allow to soak for at least 20 minutes. Make a well in center of mixture and drop in egg and sugar.
In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well. Add this to buttermilk-oats mixture. Stir in oil and cherries till well mixed.
Using a spoon, fill muffin tins about ²/³ full. Bake 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and turn out onto rack to cool. Makes 12 muffins.
Easy Cherry Pie
Frank Levering raved about the virtues of the Montmorency so Elaine wanted to use that variety in this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ stick margarine or butter (Elaine used butter)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 quart sweetened fruit
Preparation:
Melt butter in 1 ¼ quart casserole dish.
Prepare batter from flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Pour heated fruit over butter in casserole. Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. (You can use self-rising flour instead of plain flour and baking powder.) Serve with cream if desired.
Cherry Crisp
Elaine used the Balaton cherry for this recipe, and the finished product was delightfully crunchy and sweet. But as noted, any sour cherry variety will serve.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup flower
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup margarine (we used butter)
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 pound tart cherries
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Preparation:
Put cherries in bowl with ½ cup sugar; stir occasionally to let syrup form. (This will take at least 30 minutes)
Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour and oats. Cut in margarine or butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in ½ cup of sugar. Set aside for topping.
Drain cherries, reserving liquid. Combine remaining sugar with cornstarch, spices, and lemon juice. Slowly blend in cherry juice.
Cook over low heat stirring constantly until sauce is thick and clear. Add cherries. Pour into greased 8-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with topping. Bake 30 minutes.