It's cherry time. Some of the season's first fruit comes from a very special family orchard.

When the early cherries start ripening each spring, it’s all hands on deck for Sid Zaidan, his eleven adult children and countless grandchildren. It’s grandma Frances’s job to cook for everyone – tabouleh, hummos, kibbe and toum, a marvelous fresh garlic sauce that’s an art to make.

Cherries are in season from October each year – peaking in the summer months. There are numerous varieties grown commercially in Australia – starting with the early croppers such as Burgsdorf (a smaller, light red variety) and Chapmans (sweet, dark and heart-shaped).

Other varieties grown at the Zaidan orchard include Rons – a magnificent dark, eating cherry, Eagles – an old-variety, bright-coloured eating cherry and the Empress, large and dark.

Cherries are not easy to grow, needing a well-draining sandy soil and good ventilation, plus a certain number of chilling hours (cold weather, in other words!)

Nutritionally, cherries are high in bio-flavanoids, nature’s “chemotherapy” – a strong anti-oxidant that is considered more potent than vitamins A, C and E. They originated in China and are now grown around the world. They are particularly popular in America which is a major exporter of frozen cherries.