Chukar Cherries

These folks sent me a catalog a month or two ago. I'm not sure how they got my name and address, but I love dark chocolate and cherries separately, so the combination sounded perfect for me. After a few weeks contemplation I ordered a jar of dark chocolate covered cherries and a tin of mixed dried cherries and nuts. Because I ordered a certain amount they gave me a small package of what they call cherry blossoms, probably milk chocolate mixed w/ cherries. I'm not sure. The package arrived today. I just tried a couple of the cherry blossoms, which were OK. I tried one of the dark chocolate cherries, which I liked better. I opened the nuts and cherries later. What passed for candy in my family when I was a child was a mixture of walnuts and raisins. This felt comfortable and familiar, though the basic ingredients were slightly different. Chukar cherries is a family owned farm in Washington, just the kind of business I like to support, although this will last me quite a while.

Do you like cherries? Do you like chocolate? What is better thank putting the two together and having chocolate dipped cherries. I am not talking about the cherry cordial type like Queen Anne ones. No, something even better.

If you are in, near or passing through Prosser, WA, then you need to make time to stop at Chukar Cherries. They have a tasting room that is open daily with multiple different varieties of cherries and chocolate dipped combinations that you can try. I could've spent an hour there eating just the samples and trying out the different flavors. I ended up going with a melody of four different Chocolate dipped cherries. They have two different kinds of cherries with four different types of chocolate coating. The show room and shop is a small little area, but it is in front of the location where they actually have the warehouse that are dipping the cherries. The cherry orchard is local to the area so they do not travel very far before getting their sweet coating of chocolate.

You can also order these online and have them shipped anywhere in the world. When I tell you that these are some of the best chocolate dipped cherries, I have had I am not lying to you.

Cassandra was great! She was very knowledgeable and friendly. She gave multiple great samples and offered a wonderful selection of cherry varieties. If I could, I would give Cassandra 10/10 stars. Visited from south Texas and would definitely recommend. From the Mercardo Family :)

When passing through the area I had to stop at my favorite place for a sweet treat! There is nothing like a Chukar Cherry. I will never forget my first package that I purchased when on a camping trip in Mt Rainer National park. I have been hooked and have visited every location so far. I love that they use ZERO dyes in their foods. If you haven't had a chocolate covered Chukar cherry you're missing out!

When visiting this location they offered us a tasting of some of their treats and we picked up some good deals. Highly recommend a visit!

Sadly, I looked at their paper catalogue and really wanted to buy some of these. Their photographs looked so tasty! We've had many of their cherry based goodies over the years, but they were always purchased by our elderly relative who had them shipped here. She passed away last spring, so we thought we'd order these ourselves.

What a surprise I found that their paper catalogue doesn't even list their website nor an online order page. (Who's in charge of their marketing?)

I was able to search online and found that they do have a website and that they also sell through Amazon. Hooray! I have Amazon Prime and expected the free shipping. What a downer! Chukar doesn't offer with Prime! I'm expected to pay $12.95 for shipping on a measly $29.95 jar of popcorn? No way!

So, I checked their online site to see if the shipping was any less. Guess what? No! Chukar will also charge the $12.95 for shipping. You'd think they could charge less fot small shipments.

The result is that we will forgo bothering to order from Chukar and will buy our Christmas snacks elsewhere. There's plenty of places who offer popcorn without charging me for that price for shipping.

Covid prevents actual tasting, other than teeny pre-portioned tidbits.

Pricey for chocolate covered cherries, in our book.

Lots of variation on the chocolate cherry concept.

We stopped in to Chukkar Cherries Friday 10/22/21 and they are allowing tasting now. The specialties include chocolate and strawberry coated cherries and nuts in various varieties. Once you sample them you will immediately want to take some home. My favorite was the milk chocolate honey pecans which are honey roasted pralines dipped in chocolate and coated in powder sugar. Unbelievably tasty, but so is everything else. The only downside to all this is the price. A 6.75 oz. bag of chocolates is about $13.50. The packaging is very attractive though and these are perfect gifts that as pointed out by the server can be ordered online and sent anywhere. If in Prosser, the Flagship store is a must see.

I grew up in the Yakima Valley and lived there for 30 years until moving out. I'd heard of chukar cherries and seen them in the airport, but never actually had any until last weekend when I went home to visit. Thought they would be a nice little gift to bring back to CA and give my neighbors who are checking my mail and the friends who are dog-sitting for us. Glad I went into the store instead of bought at the airport. They were $2 cheaper a bag, but also got $5 off for buying 4 and a little gift for spending $75. Cute store, super clean and friendly staff. Oh, and they're delicious. The chocolate powder sugar pecans are bomb.

If you're visiting Prosser, Chukar Cherries is a must visit spot.

[Staff]
Super friendly, helpful, attentive and giving. They offer samples on the different chocolate cherries and jams products that are sold in store. They're experienced and will help explain and identify what you may like and let you try it as well. They are also very respectful and give you personal time to look over and review, without hovering. This is great as they are there to help and are very supportive.

[Products]
The store is full of different types of Cherry products, from chocolate to jams/preserves, and even now, trail mix packages. Their most popular are the 6.75 oz. bags of cherries. Currently ranging from $13.50 to 14.50 per bag, with a buy 4, save $5.00. This isn't a bad deal given that these are great evening snacks (with wine pairing), or as gifts. They also have smaller size cherry packets in box size ($10.00/ea), and if you are considering a nice present, larger pre-set gift box ranging around $50 and $90. During the holidays, they have also arranged a pre-packed gift set in a basket for you and if you like what you see, these are the better valued versus buying individual pieces. I recommend Cabernet, Blossom, Raspberry, Truffles, Rainier, Hazelnut and Cocoa Pecan ones. If you're still confused, you can't go wrong w/ the Orchard Medley. If you like a spread, check out the Jubilee or Preserve, both are sweet but not to overpowering.

[Parking/Location]
Ample parking spots in the front with a large store emblem on the wall letting you know you made it. The Prosser location is more relaxed with all the products available. The Seattle/PikePlace location is a bit smaller (booth) and a lot more crowded as there's more foot traffic going through the Pike Marketplace.

[Final Thoughts]
If you're looking to support local business in the state of Washington, you can't go wrong with Chukar Cherries either for yourself or as a gift. The quality of the product does justify the price.

What's Eastern Washington without Chukar Cherries? Fruitless if you ask me!

Dad jokes aside, I enjoy coming here on a quarterly basis to get some of the finest chocolate covered cherries to gift and ship to friends and family. The staff are very friendly and will be inquisitive to your tastes and needs to help you make an informed purchase. The cherry blossoms are my favorite, but they have a wide variety of chocolates, wine, nuts, and jams. Their pricing structure is set where if you buy more you'll save a bit more or get a free item. If you want the most bang for your buck you can get their cheap mixed bag which houses a lot of different flavors but didn't pass the visual "quality check."

I look forward to seeing what flavors they do for St Patrick's Day and such, think they'll do a green cherry style?