Cherry flavouring?

[Susanwusan]

Cherry is a fairly popular flavour, why then is it so difficult to find cherry flavouring?  Lemon, orange, coffee, mint flavourings are readily available everywhere even though the original products are easy to come by.  Where in the UK can I find an effective quality cherry flavouring? 

[heidih]

Ouch. My humble unprofessional opinion is RUN. As is strawberry - not a pretty taste when a "flavoring". I seek the bin at even the mention of the latter.

[shain]

With flavor extracts It's all about how much you use. Even when of good quality only a few flavor extracts are pleasant by themselves. I have Lorann black cherry extract at hand, and also their strawberry. It is available via Amazon.

It can be disgusting and artificial tasting if you use too much or rely on it by itself. But if I have some fruit or preserves which is less than stellar, I often add a drop, just enough to add a bit more depth.

But quality can change between products and depend on what you are after. For example, I dislike Lorann's coconut, but enjoyed using Bakto's coconut in the past. Banana extract all taste extremely artificial, but sometimes this is what I'm after.

The main use I make for the cherry extract is actually to make cherry coke, on the rare occasions I crave coca cola, I prefer the cherry version, which is not available to me.

[liuzhou]

You could try using cherries.

[RWood]

Chef Rubber does sell a cherry fruit powder, but I have no idea what it's like.  

[Duvel]

6 hours ago, Susanwusan said:

Cherry is a fairly popular flavour, why then is it so difficult to find cherry flavouring?  Lemon, orange, coffee, mint flavourings are readily available everywhere even though the original products are easy to come by.  Where in the UK can I find an effective quality cherry flavouring? 

It depends a bit on what you want the flavour for. I do use the syrup of Amarena cherries for flavouring a lot of things (but I do go through a lot of cherries for my Old Fashioneds) ...

[heidih]

15 minutes ago, Duvel said:

It depends a bit on what you want the flavour for. I do use the syrup of Amarena cherries for flavouring a lot of things (but I do go through a lot of cherries for my Old Fashioneds) ...

Oh my and now you have reminded me of Maraska -such a wonderful cooking ingredient in small doses. Pretty bottle I used to get from local Italian deli. bhttps://www.missionliquor.com/products/maraska-cherry-wine-750ml-1?

 

[Susanwusan]

I want to use it in baking and flavouring cream or buttercream.  I tried De Kuyper cherry liqueur but I couldn't use too much and it didn't give much cherry flavour.  Can anyone tell me what Monin Morello cherry syrup tastes like, if it has a distinctive cherry flavour?

Edited November 7, 2020 by Susanwusan (log)

[mgaretz]

Part of the problem is that what we associate with "cherry flavor" varies from person to person.  And the other problem is what we typically associate with "cherry flavor" is really nothing like real cherries and is colored more by the candy industry's definition of cherry flavor, most often "wild cherry" Lifesavers.

 

I have never found a cherry flavoring that by itself gives me the flavor profile that I want.  I did find that the mix of several does a pretty good job.  Here is what I use in my ice cream, you would have to see how it translates to baking:

 

By volume:

 

Torani cherry syrup: 2 parts

First Street* cherry snow cone syrup: 2 parts

Almond extract: 1 part

 

*First Street is a house brand of Smart and Final - a California-centric chain like a mini-Costco, with a few stores in Nevada and Arizona.  But I assume that you could use other types of cherry snow cone syrup.  

[Susanwusan]

I'm afraid I have to economise!  Is Classikool a reputable brand?