Maraschino Cherries...this is ME talking to you!!!

The Venue...!

Since talking lyrically about Maraschino cherries these last few days, I thought I ought to look into their background a bit, find out a little about them.

Their Affogato - Vanilla Ice-cream, a shot of Hot Espresso and an Amaretti Biscuit.



There is much info on the Internet, as you might imagine, but before I give out a few snippets of stuff, would you like to see a photo-shot of my delicious pudding, from Sunday -

My Belgian Waffle with Dark Cherries, Chocolate Ice-cream & Chocolate Sauce

The Menu

His Chocolate Brownie with Chantilly Cream


There is much about on the Internet, of course, and it made fascinating reading.

For now, suffice to say, the present-day Maraschino cherry is the result of a chemical process and not from an ago-old preservation recipe, known only to the indigenous society of early 19th century Croatia.

Today, the cherry is brined, coloured and flavoured, and presented as Maraschino Cherries without the use of the originally known "marasca" cherries, or the liqueur produced by the crushing and pickling habits of local village cooks and Vintners.

Ah well, things and processes change.  The original cherry supply could not keep up with demands. They became expensive to produce and supply, so the preserve of the monied classes and European crowned heads.

When the cherry was exported to the United States, growers there set about finding their own methods of preservation, cheaper and without the use of alcohol.  Eventually, Professor Ernest H. Wiegand, a horticulturist at Oregon State University, perfected his own recipe. based on indigenous preservation recipes, and the magic became a science.

The cherries I had last Sunday were called "Dark Cherries" but they had the same taste as the ones remembered from childhood and, as seen in the bars of  various pubs my parents ran during that same childhood, and the magic of those days is still with me....!

Also found in my research, a recipe for home-made maraschino cherries but, that as they say, is for another day....!

My research notes and ideas came from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and I am very grateful for the helpful information.  I also read up on Maraschino cherries from my edition - The Concise Larousse Gastronomique - ISBN 0-600-60009-2 , Page 768.


Daisy

ps  the cherry is a luscious fruit, is it not???