Spanish colonists were the first to introduce fruit trees to the valleys of Rio Arriba County, taking advantage of the fertile soil alongside the banks of its rivers and streams. Today many of their descendants still cultivate them on land dating back to a 1725 Spanish land grant.

Mostly known for its numerous apple orchards, the valleys of Velarde, Embudo and Dixon also produce plums, peaches, apricots and hard-to-find cherries. One of the first fruit trees to ripen, cherries have a short growing season, unlike peaches, which continue to ripen throughout the season.

Among the least cultivated fruits on Earth, cherries originated in ancient Kerasus on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey. Now modern-day Giresun (Cherryland), it was named for the wild cherry trees that grew in profusion in the hills above this port town. Turkey was the original exporter of cherries to Europe; later, French colonists brought the pits to America in the 1600's.

Today, most of the tart varieties come from Michigan, while most sweet cherries come from California and Washington state. According to Steve Warshawer at Mesa Top Farm on Glorieta Mesa southeast of Santa Fe, the fruiting season for cherries in Northern New Mexico lasts only six weeks, and the harvest is about two weeks long. "That's if they manage to survive the spring frost," Warshawer said.

Orchards are hard work, and some of the trees require special handling, taking years to produce. Like its cousin the apricot, cherries are not an easy crop to grow. They need coddling, and availability is dependent on local spring weather conditions and sudden drops in temperature. Years of work and a season's crop can be wiped out in a matter of hours.

That's what happened this year. The apricot crop barely survived the spring frost, and some growers lost 30 to 50 percent of their crop. And cherries fared even worse. Fruit grower Fred Martinez of Dixon lost his entire cherry crop. "The first time in 20 years," he said. Martinez, who probably grows more cherries than anybody else in Northern New Mexico on his 18 acres along the Rio Embudo, takes precautions such as having a wind machine to circulate air that raises the temperature by a few critical degrees on nights when the cold air settles into the valley.

Preserving the past

Gordon Tooley of Tooley's Trees has been growing species trees, shrubs and grafted fruits on his high elevation tree farm in Truchas since 1991. "We have many heirloom and uncommon varieties of grafted apple, apricot, plum, pear and cherry trees," he said.

If you need a fruit tree for your garden, you can select your own from one of his 1,000 drought-tolerant heirloom and uncommon varieties of trees. "I take cuttings from old trees and graft them, helping to grow a tree just like the original," Tooley said. An expert on the subject, he has created a permanent orchard specifically to supply cuttings for grafting. His grafts are on rootstocks carefully selected to match climate and soil types in this area. He sells small caliper trees with well-developed root systems; the root control and rootmaker bags he plants in are key factors in building a fibrous root structure. "All plants are healthy, and survival depends on their care once they leave this farm," he says.

His species trees and shrubs are easy to care for and provide screening, habitat and food for wildlife in addition to providing an opportunity for people to grow varieties that have all but disappeared from our markets. Other than those that are locally grown and sold at farmers markets or orchards, tart cherries are rarely sold fresh. Tooley has a number of cherry trees of five different hard-to-find tart varieties.

The health benefits of the elusive cherry are many and are a great source of vitamins and minerals. According to ongoing research, cherries contain high levels of powerful antioxidants that can reduce the risk of heart attacks and help fight cancer. They also contain anti-inflammatory compounds that help relieve the pain of headaches and arthritis. Eating cherries also increases the level of melatonin in the body. Frozen, organic tart cherries and cherry juice are usually sold at natural food stores.

Fresh, frozen, canned or dried cherries can be found in many recipes and go well as a glaze on roast lamb, pork and turkey. They add a sweet or tart zing to salsa or relish. For an interesting appetizer, try smoked salmon, tart cherries and pureed edamame spread on bagel chips or light rye crackers.

For a quick and easy adult-only dessert, serve pitted cherries flavored with Cointreau, an orange liqueur. Top with Italian mascarpone or sour cream lightly sweetened with brown sugar.

WARM CHERRY CHALLAH BREAD PUDDING

241/2 inch-thick slices challah bread (about 24 oz.)

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

11/4 cups sugar

8 large eggs

1/4 cup dark rum

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

11/2 cups dried tart cherries

Topping: melted semi-sweet chocolate (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a 3-inch-diameter round cookie cutter, cut a round from each bread slice and arrange on baking sheet. Toast bread rounds in oven until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

Bring cream, milk and sugar to a simmer in large heavy saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into eggs. Whisk in rum and vanilla.

Butter eight 11/4-cup soufflé dishes; arrange on rimmed baking sheet. Place one bread round in the bottom of each dish. Top each with 1 heaping tablespoon dried cherries. Top cherries in each dish with another bread round. Top each with another heaping tablespoon dried cherries. Top cherries in each dish with third bread round. Divide custard among dishes, using about 3/4 cup for each. Let stand 30 minutes, pressing down on bread occasionally. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Bake bread puddings until tops are puffed and brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes. Serve warm.