What are fake cherries made out of?

[Natural-J-Bankie]

You know the ones they put in drinks or desserts, that taste like sugar soaked plastic?

[Ringo]

I take it you’re referring to Maraschino Cherries:

Mature sweet cherries are first brined in a solution of one percent sulfur dioxide and one-half percent unslaked lime, which firms and bleaches the fruits to a lovely shade of ivory. Most manufacturers use swimming-pool-size vats in which the cherries are soaked for four to six weeks. The cherries are pitted and bleached again with sodium chlorite. Leaching the cherries in water for 24 to 36 hours removes the bleaching agent. Next, they are stored in sodium bisulfite brine for two weeks to firm them. A sugar solution is added simultaneously with red food coloring and is interchanged five times over seven days until the cherries achieve the necessary sugar content. Finally, almond flavor is added.

[Fear_Itself]

Great cite, Ringo; all I can add is that the Maraschino Cherry was invented in 1925 by Professor Ernest H. Weigand at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in Corvallis, Oregon.

Apparently he felt our cocktails lacked a day-glo fruit garnish. He is commemorated on campus by Wiegand Hall, the home of the Department of Food Science & Technology.

[Natural-J-Bankie]

I can’t believe that they were at one point real cherries. Good info though. Thanks Ringo.

[Natural-J-Bankie]

You would think they would just use real pitted cherries, which IMO would be infinitly better, and probably cheaper too.

[Kalt]

*Originally posted by Natural-J-Bankie *
**You would think they would just use real pitted cherries, which IMO would be infinitly better, and probably cheaper too. **

Because they don’t look special when added to a mixed drink.

As a side note, i’ve always wondered what a Maraschino cherry pie would taste like. I’m not about to try it… but if anyone has, I’d be interested to know how it came out

[mmmiiikkkeee]

Maraschino cherries keep practically forever, are sweeter, are pretty, don’t stain drinks purple with their cherry juice, and are just different enough from natural cherries to have develloped their own nich.

[Bossk]

So is the cherry juice in a jar of Maraschino cherries REAL cherry byproduct?

I always thought Grenadine was cherry juice, until I learned it was made from pomegranates.

[Hemlock]

So essentially, a maraschino cherry is a real cherry with all the contents of a real cherry (color, flavor, probably vitamin C etc) taken out except the cellulose - and replaced with sugar and almond flavor.

“Fake cherries” seems the best description for them.

[Mangetout]

I’ve seen tins of cheery pie filling that are not real cherries at all but balls of gelatin-stabilised reconstituted fruit pulp (not always entirely cherry pulp either - apples are sometimes used as they are cheaper)

[Mangetout]

Oops, make that Cherry pie filling, nothing cheery about it at all.