For the love of cherries

The marasca cherry is a small fruit that is said to grow with the best flavor only on the lands of coastal Croatia. While Croatia produces the most marasca cherries, Italy, Slovenia, southern Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina also produce significant amounts. It is even now considered a naturalized plant in North America due to how well it grows without being a nuisance. It has a bitter flavor and a dry pulp that makes it ideal for making liqueur.

Originally, maraschino cherries were whole marasca cherries that were preserved in maraschino liqueur, which was made from marasca cherries that were preserved and pickled. Marasca cherries were rare though so often it was only royalty and high society that could afford them. They eventually gained popularity in Europe and it eventually spread to the United States. Originally, they were just as rare in the U.S. and only served in fine bars and fancy restaurants. By the turn of the 19th century, people were experimenting with different cherries and different extracts to see if they could be produced in a cheaper manner. These variations had to be labeled as “imitation maraschino cherries” though. Prohibition produced a definitive need for a different way to store and produce these cherries though or they could no longer serve them. It led to manufacturing them in a brine solution instead of the alcohol and using an artificial coloring. This method is still used today. Now maraschino cherries are defined as “cherries dyed red, infused with sugar and packed in a sugary syrup”.

Did you know there are more cherry “flavored” foods than there are foods with real cherries in them? None of them really taste like fresh cherries though. The chemicals are designed to mimic the flavor of real cherries but often include the slight bitter taste of the pit which you don’t actually eat with a real cherry.

It is believed the oldest cherry tree can be found in Japan on the grounds of Jisso- ji Temple in the city of Hokuto. It is thought to be over 2000 years old. It’s just over 30 feet tall and is approximately the same circumference.

This week’s recipes all require cherries that are chopped. If you have a food processor, feel free to use it, just don’t pulse it so much they end up tiny. I felt the recipes tasted better with larger chunks of cherries. Make your grocery list and pick up some jars of cherries this week. Then, meet me in the kitchen for these easy recipes and share in my love of cherries!