CarolCooks2…Friday Food Review…Glace Cherries or Maraschino Cherries…

 

Welcome to Friday Food Reviews where I will be covering a different food or product each week and looking at… what are they?  where do they grow, what can we substitute them for in a recipe, are they safe to eat, how to store them, how to use them, cook them, anything connected to that food. or product..all the why’s and the wherefores…it will, of course, be mainly my own opinion or a known fact…good or bad…there may even be a tried and tested recipe…or three…

This week it’s…Glace Cherries v Marischino Cherries…

My mother always used glace cherries in her cakes or anything which required cherries like melting moments or coconut pyramids…There are also maraschino cherries as an alternative… Is one any better than the other?

Glace Cherries…

Are there any real cherries in there somewhere…there is lots of sugar we can agree on that as the moisture inside the cherries is drawn out by the sugar solution and in turn, the cells of the cherry are filled with the sugar solution…

What is the process for making green glace cherries?… The cherries are first soaked in a brine solution that typically contains calcium chloride and sulfur dioxide. This bleaches the cherries, removing their natural red pigment and flavour. The cherries are left in the brine solution for four to six weeks… The classic flavour of the green variety is usually peppermint…I didn’t know that…then artificial colourings and preservatives are used…

Glace cherries or candied cherries as they are also known are maraschino cherries which are processed further by cooking them in thick flavoured syrup. This gives them a texture and intense sweetness similar to other candied fruits such as orange peel and pineapple.

Today’s maraschino cherries are sweet cherries that have been artificially coloured to be very bright red…this hasn’t always been the case though…my dad always used to buy a small jar of maraschino cherries at Christmas as my mother and my nan loved a snowball with a cherry in it…the ones he used to buy were preserved in liqueur…first produced in 1905 and are still made in Italy using Marasca cherries and liqueur.

They’re also made without artificial colourings, thickeners, or preservatives. You may find them in certain wine and spirits stores, fine dining establishments and posh hotel restaurants but you are unlikely to find them in your local supermarket…unless, of course, you live in Italy…or on Amazon

Please note I am not affiliated with Amazon I am just kind and saved you doing the search xx

However, it is quite simple to make your own glace cherries…and once you do you will bypass those on the supermarket shelves…

Take500 grams of cherries with the stalks on, and simmers them over very low heat with 500 grams of castor sugar and a tablespoon of water for 30 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid, gently stir them and simmers them for another 30 minutes.

Then remove the cherries, reduce the syrup by half and return the cherries to the pan then put them and the syrup in sterilised jars.

Enjoy!

Maraschino Cherries…

Of course, you could use brandy instead of the Maraschino Liqueur …and although there is still sugar in both these recipes there is no calcium chloride and sulfur dioxide, colourings and other preservatives and they are so easy to do…

Thank you for joining me today I hope you have a good Friday and are not too hungover from your St Patricks Day celebrations…See you tomorrow for Saturday Snippets …As always I look forward to your comments xx

24 thoughts on “CarolCooks2…Friday Food Review…Glace Cherries or Maraschino Cherries…”

  2. Pingback: CarolCooks2 weekly roundup… 13th -19th March 2022-Monday Musings, Health, A-Z World Cuisine, Belgium, Glace Cherries and Saturday Snippets where a “Heart” is my prompt. | Retired? No one told me!

  3. LaShelle

    My mom never let me have maraschino cherries very often but I could have as many regular cherries as I wanted. She’s a health conscious woman so I’m sure this is why!

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      You are welcome, Jim…maybe if you were a cake maker or a desert queen you would…lol…but I forgive you but don’t beat yourself up as my hubbie wouldn’t know what they were either 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I didn’t either, Dorothy untill I did my research like you I just thought they were sugar-laden :)..Now I know how easy they are to make I will be making my own ..one less processed thing in my kitchen which shouldn’t be 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Pingback: CarolCooks2…Friday…Glace Cherries or Maraschino Cherries… – MobsterTiger

  9. dgkaye

    I loved learning about the process of making marachino cherries. I didn’t know there was so much preservative business going on for the commercial brands. I like your recipe much better. ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Neither did I until I checked I am gradually going through everything I use to find out how they are produced and am having a few shocks on the way…some things I couldn’t reproduce at home but these cherries I can ❤

      Liked by 2 people

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