Maraschino cherry
Encyclopedia
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries such as the Royal Ann
Royal Ann cherry
The Royal Ann is a variety of cherry. It is used mainly for pies, commercial canning, and to make maraschino cherries....
, Rainier
Rainier cherry
Rainier is a cultivar of cherry. It was developed in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle. It is a cross between the Bing and Van cultivars....
, or Gold varieties. In their modern form, the cherries are first preserved in a brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
solution usually containing sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
and calcium chloride
Calcium chloride
Calcium chloride, CaCl2, is a salt of calcium and chlorine. It behaves as a typical ionic halide, and is solid at room temperature. Common applications include brine for refrigeration plants, ice and dust control on roads, and desiccation...
to bleach the fruit, then soaked in a suspension
Suspension (chemistry)
In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous fluid containing solid particles that are sufficiently large for sedimentation. Usually they must be larger than 1 micrometer. The internal phase is dispersed throughout the external phase through mechanical agitation, with the use of certain...
of food coloring
Food coloring
Food coloring is a substance, liquid or powder, that is added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking...
(common red food dye, FD&C Red 40
Allura Red AC
Allura Red AC is a red azo dye that goes by several names including: Allura Red, Food Red 17, C.I. 16035, FD&C Red 40, 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid, 6-hydroxy-5--, disodium salt, and disodium 6-hydroxy-5--2-naphthalenesulfonate. It is used as a food dye and has the E number E129...
), sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
syrup
Syrup
In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...
, and other components. Green maraschino cherries use a mint flavoring.
Maraschino cherries are an ingredient in many cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s. As a garnish, they often are used to decorate frozen yogurt, baked ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
, cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
s, pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
, parfaits, milkshake
Milkshake
A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce....
s, ice cream sundae
Sundae
The sundae is an ice cream dessert. It typically consists of a scoop of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup, and in some cases other toppings including chopped nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream, or maraschino cherries.-History:...
s, and ice cream soda
Ice cream soda
An ice cream soda or float , coke float , or spider , is a beverage that consists of one or more scoops of ice cream in either a soft drink or in a mixture of flavored syrup and carbonated water.-Origins:The ice cream soda was invented by Robert M...
s. They are also used as an accompaniment to sweet paan. They are also sometimes put into a glass of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
to make an old-fashioned or homemade "Cherry Coke".
History
The name maraschino refers to the marasca cherryMarasca cherry
The Marasca cherry is a type of sour Morello cherry known only from cultivation. The Marasca cherry as grown in Mediterranean Croatia The Marasca cherry (Prunus cerasus var. marasca) is a type of sour Morello cherry known only from cultivation. The Marasca cherry as grown in Mediterranean...
of Croatian origin and the maraschino
Maraschino
Maraschino .The liqueur's distinctive flavor comes from the Marasca cherries, and the crushed cherry pits lend an almond-like flavor to Maraschino...
liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
made from it, in which maraschino cherries were crushed and sweetened. Whole cherries preserved in this liqueur were known as "maraschino cherries". They were, at first, produced for and consumed as a delicacy by royalty and the wealthy.
In the U.S.
The cherries were first introduced in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the late 19th century, where they were served in fine bars and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s. By the turn of the century, American producers were experimenting with flavors such as almond extract and substituting Queen Anne cherries
Royal Ann cherry
The Royal Ann is a variety of cherry. It is used mainly for pies, commercial canning, and to make maraschino cherries....
for marasca cherries. In 1912, the USDA defined "maraschino cherries" as "marasca cherries preserved in maraschino" under the authority of the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. The artificially-colored and sweetened Royal Anne variety were required to be called "Imitation Maraschino Cherries" instead. Food Inspection Decision 141, defined marasca cherries and maraschino themselves. It was signed on Feb. 17, 1912.
During Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
as of 1920, the decreasingly popular alcoholic variety was illegal as well. Ernest H. Wiegand
Ernest H. Wiegand
Ernest H. Wiegand was a professor of horticulture at Oregon State University who, in 1925 during prohibition, developed a brine method that led to the modern maraschino cherry. He won the Nicholas Appert Award in 1960. The food sciences building on the university's Corvallis, Oregon campus,...
, a professor of horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
at Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
, developed the modern method of manufacturing maraschino cherries using a brine solution rather than alcohol. Accordingly, most modern maraschino cherries have only a historical connection with maraschino liqueur.
According to Bob Cain, who worked with Wiegand at OSU, Prohibition had nothing to do with Wiegand's research: his intention was to develop a better brining process for cherries that would not soften them. When Wiegand began his research, there were several ways to preserve maraschino cherries without alcohol, long before Prohibition went into effect. Wiegand took a process that people had their own recipes for—"and who knows what they were putting in there" (frequently not alcohol)—and turned it into a science, something replicable.
When Wiegand began his research, sodium metabisulfite
Sodium metabisulfite
Sodium metabisulfite or sodium pyrosulfite is an inorganic compound of chemical formula Na2S2O5. The substance is sometimes referred to as disodium...
was being used to preserve maraschino cherries. Some accounts indicate that this preservation method was being used long before Prohibition. Some manufacturers used maraschino or imitation liqueurs to flavor the cherries, but newspaper stories from the early part of the century suggest that many manufacturers stopped using alcohol before Prohibition.
After Prohibition was repealed
Repeal of Prohibition
The Repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.-Background:...
in 1933 the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
revisited federal policy toward canned cherries. It held a hearing in April 1939 to establish a new standard of identity
Standard of identity
Standard of identity for food are the mandatory, federally-set requirements that determine what a food product must contain to be marketed under a certain name in interstate commerce...
. Since 1940, "maraschino cherries" have been defined as "cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar and packed in a sugar sirup flavored with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor".
Red Numbers 1 and 4, and Yellow Numbers 1 through 4 were removed from the approved list in 1960. The ban on Red Number 4 was lifted in 1965 to allow the coloring of maraschino cherries, which is considered mainly decorative and not a foodstuff (Pavia, et al., Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques).
See also
- A similar process produces Glace fruit.