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The 2025 Cherry-Palooza at Hallstedt Homestead Cherries was a great event! Owners Phil and Sarah Hallstedt gave very interesting introduction to the attendees before they sat down to enjoy a “cherry” creative lunch by Detroit-based, James Beard Award-winning chef, Jimmy Schmidt. The menu used the Hallstedt’s new Red Truck Cherry Vinegar in every course, showing how it could not only be a salad dressing, but also add a subtle touch to potato salad and coleslaw; be the base for a marinade for brisket; pickle vegetables; be sprinkled on potato chips, and, last but certainly not least, be part of a delicious caramel topping for ice cream.
The Hallstedts talked about the cherry industry and the importance of value-added cherry products. Their goal with the Red Truck Orchards cherry vinegar is to have a product that provides that to many local growers. The group also heard their Director of Operations, Sam Reese, speak about the new processing plant on the property, which is scaled to be able to produce over 7,000 bottles per month. Reese was a brewmaster at Bell’s for a long time, but has had a lifelong interest in fermentation, and was excited to experiment with fermenting cherries.
