Home-made Marachino Cherries

[Sheila]

gardenofeatingblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/homemade-maraschino-cherries.html


Cherry Limeade
1 (64 oz.) container of Limeade
1 (10 oz.) jar of Maraschino Cherries (Halves or Whole)
¼ cup sugar (optional)
1-2 limes (for decoration)

Shake up container of Limeade well before using. In a 2 quart container, pour in Limeade. Now pour in the juice only from the jar of Maraschino cherries.

Stir very well. Give it a taste. If it is sweet enough for you, stop there. If not, add sugar and stir very well to combine.

Serve with ice. Add cherries and a lime slice to each glass.
To make this a bit more bubbly, just add some Sprite, 7-Up or Ginger Ale.

[Cyngbaeld]

If you knew how commercial maraschino cherries are made, you would jump at making your own at home. As with any canning project, it will take some time, mostly standing time, but the effort is well worth it.
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:

Brine:
2 quarts water
1 Tablespoon pickling salt
4-1/2 pounds pitted sweet cherries
.
Syrup:
4-1/2 pounds sugar
3 cups water
Juice of one lemon
1 ounce red food coloring
1 ounce almond extract

Preparation:
Bring water and salt to a boil, stirring until salt is dissolved. Let cool for 10 minutes, then pour over pitted sweet cherries. Cover and let sit 12 hours or overnight.

Drain cherries, discarding brine, and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon juice, and red food coloring. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, and remove from heat. Pour over cherries, cover, and let stand for 24 hours.

Drain cherries, reserving juice. Set cherries aside. Bring reserved juice to a boil again. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Pour juice over cherries.

Pack cherries with juice in hot sterilized jars and seal according to manufacturer's recommendations. Place in a water bath canner and process 20 minutes for pint jars or 25 minutes for quart jars.
homecooking.about.com/od/fruitrecipes/r/blfruit23.htm