Recipe of Maraschino Cherries - Food Recipes

--MasterCook II Extracted--

MARASCHINO CHERRIES

Recipe By : The Cook's Book of Uncommon Recipes
Serving Size : 1
Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Misc

Ingredients - Preparation Method:

5 pounds Royal Anne cherries (Royal Annes are best, but you can also use other firm, light cherries) 1 tablespoon alum (pharmacies carry this if you can't find it at your supermarket) 4 tablespoons salt (use kosher or pickling salt, not table salt) 7 cups sugar 1 ounce red food coloring 1 teaspoon almond extract Wash and remove the seeds from the cherries. (A cherry pitter is a handy tool to use for this.) You should have about 10 cups of pitted cherries when you finish. Dissolve the alum and the salt in 2 quarts of cold water. Add the cherries and allow to stand for 6 hours. (If the cherries tend to float, weight them down with a bowl.) Drain the cherries and rinse them with cold water. In a separate large pan, combine the sugar and 2 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook while you stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cherries, bring back to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the red food coloring and almond extract and allow to stand in a cool place for 24 hours, stirring from time to time. The next day, bring to cherries back to a boil and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Pour the boiling hot fruit into the prepared half-pint jars and process them for 5 minutes. Store in a cool place.
Serving size: about 8 half pints - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Truly, these are not hard to make...and they look beautiful. You'll find them to be a little larger and juicier than the ones you buy in those little bottles at the store. These make a nice gift. Making Maraschino Cherries is a two day job, however, so be sure you allow the time you will need.