Cocktail Cherries
Why This Recipe Works: The garishly bright-red cherries that garnish everything from ice cream sundaes and fruitcakes to baked hams and cocktails are a far cry from the original maraschino cherry. To make these ersatz maraschinos, sweet cherries are bleached using sulfur dioxide and calcium chloride, then soaked in artificially flavored and dyed sugar syrup. We wanted true maraschinos rather than these chemical bombs.We tested our way through fresh, frozen, jarred, and canned sweet and sour cherries; we preserved them with cherry liqueur, bourbon, brandy, and sugar syrups (including white, brown, Demerara, muscovado, and even caramelized). We hit our sweet (and delicately sour) spot when we soaked jarred sour Morello cherries (similar to but more accessible than Marascas) in a syrup made from unsweetened 100 percent cherry juice and sugar. The key to the syrup was to reduce the juice before adding sugar.
- 8 ounces unsweetened 100 percent cherry juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 (24.7-ounce) jar pitted dark Morello cherries in light syrup, drained
Meanwhile, place 1-pint glass jar in bowl and place under hot running water until heated through, 1–2 minutes; shake dry.
Using slotted spoon, gently pack cherries into hot jar. Using funnel and ladle, pour hot syrup over cherries to cover; you may have some leftover syrup. Let jar cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours before serving. (Cocktail cherries can be refrigerated for up to 2 months.)