Maraschino cherries

[aguynamedrobert]

Has anyone made their own "Maraschino cherries". So have you actually pitted cherries yourself and made a simple syrup with whatever flavor you want and marinated them for a few weeks? I am very interested in doing this and making some cherry cordials out of it...

I know how to do this but I was wondering what flavors people had tried...

[gfron1]

Check out this and other topics on the subject in past posts.

[Lindacakes]

I just started a thread about candying cherries -- I'm in the middle of candying three pounds of cherries right now.

I did this before, and I used a quick method recipe that involved boiling the syrup and the cherries.

This time I'm using a recipe from an old candy-making book, it is more time consuming.

I pitted the cherries, I boiled a pot of water and submerged them for four minutes.

I placed the cherries in a jelly roll pan so they would all be flat.

I took four cups of the boiling liquid and added sugar and boiled it.

The cherries rested overnight.

Each morning I'm draining them, adding more sugar to the syrup, boiling it and pouring it back over the cherries.

At some point the recipe calls for the cherries to be dried.

I posted my thread hoping that someone could advise me on that part -- I don't want dried cherries! I want candied cherries! Plump ones!

What is nice about this process is that you can put other stuff in the syrup -- a drop of almond extract, some Kirsch, etc.

I haven't read the maraschino cherry thread linked above, but I'm certain that a nicely candied cherry enrobed in chocolate would be exceedingly tasty.

I'm doing mine for fruitcake, and the derivatives thereof (cookies, tutti fruitti ice cream, etc.)