Maraschino Cherries (Revisited?)

I made these for the first time last year, and let me tell you, they bear absolutely no resemblance to the nasty plastic things that are found in supermarket jars (thank goodness).

It's possible that I posted the recipe last year--likely, even--but making it for the second time I've got some details to add.


Maraschino Cocktail Cherries Makes (3) 6 oz. jars

1 lb. pitted sour cherries [or (1) 24 oz. jar canned]
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water, or, liquid from jar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 strips of lemon zest
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 c. Maraschino liqueur
1/2 tsp. each vanilla and almond extracts

Combine all ingredients but cherries, liqueur, and extracts; bring to a rolling boil. Add the cherries. Remove pot from heat and add liqueur and extracts. Discard cinnamon and lemon zest (I composted them).

Fill jars about 4/5 full of cherries; pour in liquid, leaving a generous 1/2" headspace. The cherries will expand during the processing--if you don't leave enough space, you will have to take out some of the contents and re-process the jars!

Process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Leave jars undisturbed for at least 12 hours. Remove screw lids, wash and dry jars and lids. Put lids back on and tighten. Add labels.

If you used canned cherries you'll have extra juice and maybe extra liquid from making these. I combined all of this with some simple syrup and boiled it down to make sour cherries syrup. Boiled, it amounted to just about one cup. If you add a teaspoon or so of vodka, it can be kept, in a tightly closed jar, at room temperature. Use it for sodas, cocktails, or anything that takes your fancy.

Maraschino Cherries

I love cocktails. One of my particular favorites is Manhattan. A regular, a perfect, one with extras like orange bitters and a dash of Luxardo. The pit in the cherry, if you'll excuse me for putting it that way, is what passes for a maraschino cherry these days. Nasty.

Now, you can shell out $18.00 or so for a jar from Luxardo, but they're sweet cherries, and syrupy. I'm all for sour cherries...but they're difficult to come by, in or out of season.

On Tuesday I dropped by a local big box store and hit the jackpot. They had sour cherries in light syrup. This means that the cherries are still tart, and the "syrup" is more like cherry juice. We have a bottle of Luxardo, of course.

There are a number of recipes up on the web. The most simple is from the NY Times. In 2007 they recommended getting a jar of the same cherries I used today, and marinating them in Luxardo. Easy, but not quite the thing, to my way of thinking. I didn't want them to be so boozy that they would overwhelm a drink.

Luxardo Cocktail Cherries

(1) 24 oz. glass jar of sour cherries in light syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water (or juice from the packed cherries)
1 tbl. lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 dash freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Luxardo maraschino liqueur

Combine everything except the cherries and liqueur. Bring mixture to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium and add the cherries; simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in liqueur.

These can be simply stored in the refrigerator as is, but I chose to can mine. I used three 8 oz. jelly jars, and processed two of them for 20 minutes in a water bath; I put the third in to chill. They'll be gone soon enough!


I got a bonus from these canned cherries. The remainder of liquid from simmering with the cherries, added to some more lemon juice and the rest of the juices/syrup from the jar, was enough to make two 4 oz. jars of spiced cherry jelly. (Roast duck, here I come.)