Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Canning Season - Maraschino Cherries

Ripe Cherries, J. Stahl 2013

As you may have seen from two previous posts, we have a cherry tree outside. I wanted to try my hand at canning this year.

So, I ordered myself some Maraschino Liqueur, found a recipe, got myself some canning sugar and jars and was off to the races!

The recipe I used is not alcoholic, but I'd read a few others and figured out that I can substitute the liqueur for the same amount of juice called for and it works the same.

My changes are below:

250 ml water
250 ml Bols Maraschino - Likör
8 ounces Sweet Family Nordzucker Gelierzucker 1:1 - der Klassiker 1kg
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups (19 ounces) cherries, soaked 24 hours and pitted


Before I get going with photos of the end product, I thought you might like to learn how Maraschino Cherries are made in mass production. Just click here.  Fascinating, isn't it?


Your first step is to pick as many cherries as your heart desires. The second step is to soak those cherries for 24 hours. Do not argue. There are nasty little worms in it and you want to kill all of them. They'll come out of the cherries and die in the water. Trust me, it's nasty as all get out.... RINSE and soak some more somewhere in the 12 hour mark.

Pit your cherries and put them in a large ziplock unless you will be processing them immediately. Wash and then sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water. Dry these off completely.

Follow the recipe and carefully fill your jars up to the top. Put them in a water bath for 10 minutes and place somewhere to cool on their own before labeling and storing in your pantry. Or, if you're really curious - pop one of these jars into your fridge and test them out in the morning.

Here is the end product:

Maraschino Cherries, J. Stahl, 2013


Let me know what you think!  Drop a comment below and tell me if you've decided to make some of these lovely cherry preserves for yourself!

1 comment:

  1. A very informative article and lots of really honest and forthright comments made ! This certainly got me thinking about this issue, thanks all..

    ReplyDelete