Maraschino Cherries

[xcanuck]

Not sure if this belongs in the Beer and Wine thread...it seems more appropriate here but feel free to move this

After being vaguely disgusted with more grocery store maraschino cherries (the smell reminds me too much of vomit), and not being convinced of the efficacy of brandied cherries in something like a Manhattan, I've wondered about alternatives. Until now, I've been quite pleased with a brand of cherries that you can purchase at WF which is made from Michigan sour cherries (from Tillen Farms). But then, I came across this article on npr.org for making homemade maraschino cherries and that got my curiosity going. There are a few recipes out there that are more involved than the NPR one (this one looks mighty interesting).

Anyone tried doing anything like this? Thoughts on what would work best? Could it really be as simple as letting cherries sit in Luxardo liqueur?

[zoramargolis]

I recall seeing the maraschino cherry manufacturing process on one of those "camera in the food factory" television shows. Nightmarish--I haven't eaten one since, not that I was ever a fan.

But I have made my own cocktail cherries several times, and they have always been appreciated. I don't use straight Luxardo maraschino, but macerate pitted sour cherries in a blend using maraschino liqueur plus brandy, kirsch and sugar syrup.

[The Hersch]

Has anyone tried Luxardo's marasca cherries? I've never seen them in a store, but you can order them from Amazon and other online retailers. They're kind of pricey, but you're unlikely to use them very fast, unless you throw a huge cocktail party (which of course might be a good idea).

[DaRiv18]

Has anyone tried Luxardo's marasca cherries? I've never seen them in a store,

I bought some at Dean and DeLuca before. They are in a very heavy syrup (almost a paste) and I rinse them off before I put it in a Manhattan. They are quite good, but different than if you brandied your own. Mostly because, these cherries have lost all of their "crisp" and it's like eating a reconstituted dried cherry. This is a terrible description and it may dissuade you, when I'm actually trying to tell you they are worth trying.

EDIT: As far as making your own, it is with great sadness that my least successful Jacque Pepin recipe was following his brandied cherries video. I should have known better than to use vodka (or everclear) and corn syrup.

Edited June 15, 2010 by DaRiv18

[saf]

Anyone tried doing anything like this? Thoughts on what would work best? Could it really be as simple as letting cherries sit in Luxardo liqueur?

We tried this recipe the other day.

Aside from the odd blob of solidified sugar at the bottom of the bowl when we were done, it was a success.

Now I just need to figure out how to can them.

[SeanMike]

I *LOVE* the Luxardo cherries.

As for making your own, I've done that several times too. I'm going to make some soon just letting them soak in Luxardo - but also try just in bourbon or brandy.

[lackadaisi]

I *LOVE* the Luxardo cherries.

We do too! Staple around here, especially in the colder months.

[deangold]

Trader Joe's carries dried tart Montmercy cherries. Soak them in Bourbon, Brandy or Maraschino. They ahve a good chew like a commercial product without all the chemicals. Plus you get cherry flavored bourbon etc at the end.

[xcanuck]

Trader Joe's carries dried tart Montmercy cherries. Soak them in Bourbon, Brandy or Maraschino. They ahve a good chew like a commercial product without all the chemicals. Plus you get cherry flavored bourbon etc at the end.

So you would recommend using dried ones instead of fresh? Tart cherries are coming into season and I was looking for fun things to do with them.

[zoramargolis]

So you would recommend using dried ones instead of fresh? Tart cherries are coming into season and I was looking for fun things to do with them.

I made a batch using dried cherries, after I ran low on the ones I'd made with fresh sour cherries. While the dried cherries were perfectly acceptable, the fresh ones were much better. I say make the fresh cherries while they are in season.

[porcupine]

So you would recommend using dried ones instead of fresh? Tart cherries are coming into season and I was looking for fun things to do with them.

Try soaking them in vermouth for a few days if they're going into a Manhattan. Wouldn't say they're necessarily better than fresh, but they're different, and very good.

eta lookie here.

[DaRiv18]

The Hersch, on 15 June 2010 - 12:16 PM, said:

Has anyone tried Luxardo's marasca cherries? I've never seen them in a store

Just picked some up at P&C Market, $19.99. Maybe I kept my last one in the fridge for too long, because my last description is off. These cherries in a heavy syrup (not paste) and still have a "crisp" to them, but just barely. A fun side, but I should have waited to buy until I host a fancy party.

[youngfood]

Not Maraschino, but the Amarena cherries - wild italian cherries - here are downright amazing. If you love the Palena deluxe manhattan, one of the reasons is surely because of their amazing cherries. This is not the same brand they use, but they are widely recommended, including in the Cyrus cocktail book, and they are nearly as indispensible to my manhattans as is my Carpano Antica Formula.

[ol_ironstomach]

Not Maraschino, but the Amarena cherries - wild italian cherries - here are downright amazing.

Aha...they also kept a jar of those on the counter at Moorenko's in Silver Spring...but I never managed to remember the name. Delicious. Thanks!

[The Hersch]

Not Maraschino, but the Amarena cherries - wild italian cherries

Are these similar to the little wild cherries, also known as choke cherries, that grow in the eastern U.S.?

On another note, the pronunciation of "maraschino" as marasheeno instead of the correct maraskeeno really annoys me.

[synaesthesia]

Just picked some up at P&C Market, $19.99. Maybe I kept my last one in the fridge for too long, because my last description is off. These cherries in a heavy syrup (not paste) and still have a "crisp" to them, but just barely. A fun side, but I should have waited to buy until I host a fancy party.

I've been told not to keep the luxardos in the fridge. Crystallizes the sugars and gives it a glaceed effect.

[DaRiv18]

I've been told not to keep the luxardos in the fridge. Crystallizes the sugars and gives it a glaceed effect.

Indeed, the label says "keep in a cool place". Good call!

[Merry Mary]

Sour cherries and bourbon in a jar. Let sit for as long as you can stand it. Drink the beautiful rosy bourbon straight and the cherries make a great snack. Sometimes I even pit the cherries. A couple of years ago I researched some recipes that called for bourbon, lemon zest, various spices. Not worth it and the extra stuff just takes away from the cherry-ness.

[mdt]

Sour cherries and bourbon in a jar. Let sit for as long as you can stand it. Drink the beautiful rosy bourbon straight and the cherries make a great snack. Sometimes I even pit the cherries. A couple of years ago I researched some recipes that called for bourbon, lemon zest, various spices. Not worth it and the extra stuff just takes away from the cherry-ness.

I bought some sour cherries today that will be swimming in bourbon tomorrow.

[Merry Mary]

I bought some sour cherries today that will be swimming in bourbon tomorrow.

I pitted a basket of cherries yesterday and they are swimming now. I also did a smaller batch with just the pits to see how it will turn out. All this talk of cherry pits...

[The Hersch]

I picked up what I assume will be the last sour cherries of the season today at the Dupont Circle farmers' market. Many of them were past it and had to be discarded, but the rest I pitted and put in a jar which I filled up with Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Should I put the jar in the refrigerator, or not? If the cherries were not submerged in alcohol, they would surely all go bad in a day or two. Will they be happy in their liqueur unrefrigerated?

[zoramargolis]

I picked up what I assume will be the last sour cherries of the season today at the Dupont Circle farmers' market. Many of them were past it and had to be discarded, but the rest I pitted and put in a jar which I filled up with Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Should I put the jar in the refrigerator, or not? If the cherries were not submerged in alcohol, they would surely all go bad in a day or two. Will they be happy in their liqueur unrefrigerated?

they will macerate more slowly in the refrigerator, obviously, so it depends on how quickly you want to use them and how long you'd like to keep them--you don't indicate quantity above. I've always made my cocktail cherries with a mix of brandy, maraschino liqueur and sugar (and a drop of almond extract) and just left them to sit overnight at room temp and then refrigerated the jar, and they've lasted forever--still using the ones I made last summer and they are perfect. I'm not sure how much alcohol is in the maraschino compared to my mixture with brandy. if the alcohol percentage is significantly lower, it might affect the keeping ability both outside or inside a refrigerator

[jparrott]

Maraschino liqueur is around 28% abv.

[zoramargolis]

Maraschino liqueur is around 28% abv.

In that case, I'd suggest that Hersch add brandy to his cherries both for longevity and flavor sake. Be sure to add some sugar if it is then not sweet enough--sugar adds to keepability as well as alcohol. "Real" maraschino cherries are packed in heavy syrup, after all.

[The Hersch]

Luxardo maraschino is actually 32% ABV. Since I didn't have any brandy in the house (shocking, I know) I couldn't add any. I left the cherries at room temperature overnight, and I must say they tasted pretty good by today, and then popped them in the fridge. I had a quart of cherries, but after discarding the bad ones and removing the stems from and pitting the rest, I was left with a pint of cherries in liqueur. I did think of adding some gin but decided there would be too many competing flavors. I didn't even think of adding Chartreuse or tequila, which I happened to have on hand, because those would have been revolting.

[DrXmus]

Luxardo maraschino is actually 32% ABV. Since I didn't have any brandy in the house (shocking, I know) I couldn't add any. I left the cherries at room temperature overnight, and I must say they tasted pretty good by today, and then popped them in the fridge. I had a quart of cherries, but after discarding the bad ones and removing the stems from and pitting the rest, I was left with a pint of cherries in liqueur. I did think of adding some gin but decided there would be too many competing flavors. I didn't even think of adding Chartreuse or tequila, which I happened to have on hand, because those would have been revolting.

Last night I had a cherry I put up last season packed in nothing but Luxardo. I had used only the firmest ones and they're still firm, red and very tasty. The maraschino liqueur has mellowed so it's not overpowering the cherry. On the other hand, brandied cherries I made before these turned into soft, foul little balls of nastiness.

[astrid]

Do you have to refrigerate cherries that are packed in sugar and 80 proof alcohol? I packed a lot of sour cherries in whisky and brandy this June and just left them in the basement. They're really delicious right now, but now I'm worried that they'll go bad.

[zoramargolis]

Do you have to refrigerate cherries that are packed in sugar and 80 proof alcohol? I packed a lot of sour cherries in whisky and brandy this June and just left them in the basement. They're really delicious right now, but now I'm worried that they'll go bad.

This style of preserving stone fruit, the rumtopf, is very, very old--developed long before people had refrigeration. They'll probably keep for years.

Edited July 16, 2011 by zoramargolis

[Banco]

This style of preserving stone fruit, the romertopf, is very, very old--developed long before people had refrigeration. They'll probably keep for years.

Zora, a Römertopf is a covered ceramic vessel used for baking roasts and the like, still very much beloved by housewives and -men in Germany, and I believe even available stateside at places like Sur la Table. You're probably thinking of a Rumtopf, which is a large crock used to preserve fruits in rum or other spirits for use in delicious desserts and other concoctions in the wintertime. What Sauerkraut is to cabbage, Rumtopf is to fruits.

[zoramargolis]

Zora, a Römertopf is a covered ceramic vessel used for baking roasts and the like, still very much beloved by housewives and -men in Germany, and I believe even available stateside at places like Sur la Table. You're probably thinking of a Rumtopf, which is a large crock used to preserve fruits in rum or other spirits for use in delicious desserts and other concoctions in the wintertime. What Sauerkraut is to cabbage, Rumtopf is to fruits.

You are absolutely right, and I had realized that and just signed on to correct my error and found that you had done it for me.

[Joe Riley]

Two things I want to contribute, if I may:

1) Lazzaroni Maraschino liqueur (which we also carry, along with Luxardo) is 25% ABV vs. Luxardo's 32%.

2) We carry Luxardo Maraska Cherries - $19.99 for a 360-gram jar.

That is all

[The Hersch]

Okay, I give you the latest, and possibly the last, chapter in the saga of my sour cherries in maraschino liqueur. I was shopping at my favorite wine-and-spirits purveyor yesterday, and noticed that they had Rittenhouse bottled-in-bond rye whiskey for sale, so I bought a bottle of that excellent tipple. With that, and my cherries in maraschino, I created a beautiful cocktail that I named the Isle of Joy (I hope the reference will be obvious). For one cocktail:

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur in which sour cherries have steeped

2 oz Rittenhouse 100-proof rye

1/2 oz dry vermouth (I used Boissiere)

dash aromatic bitters (I used Fee Bros.)

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino-soaked sour cherries and a thin slice of lemon.

Picture attached.

[SeanMike]

1) Lazzaroni Maraschino liqueur (which we also carry, along with Luxardo) is 25% ABV vs. Luxardo's 32%.

Despite the difference in proof, Marshall and I both noted a much stronger smell of alcohol from the Lazzaroni.

The Luxardo is much more aromatic. Trying both straight, I found I actually *liked* Luxardo (a huge surprise, as often I find it overwhelms cocktails) and that it was better but more aggressive than the Lazzaroni.

Which would make the better cherry? I do not know. It'd depend on how long you let them sit and your preference. In cocktails, I'd lean towards the Lazzaroni for folks who have troubles with too much maraschino in their cocktails as it seems it would probably allow more leeway if you slip up with it.

[The Hersch]

I stopped by the excellent Bell Wine and Spirits today, and saw that they had Luxardo maraschino cherries in stock--the first time I've ever noticed them on a store shelf--so I bought a jar. Remarkably expensive, 20 bucks for a smallish jar. The cherries look stunning, lustrous and almost black. Oh my god they're sweet. They're clearly a quality product, but they're basically candied, which isn't really what I want. I see someone upthread suggests rinsing them before using in a cocktail. I made a cocktail similar to the "Isle of Joy" I described above: Bulleit rye whiskey, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, dry vermouth, a Luxardo maraschino cherry, a thin slice of lemon, and a few drops of aromatic bitters. It would probably have been better had I rinsed off the cherry, and would certainly have been better with one of my sour cherries in maraschino liqueur.