Maraschino Cherry

A maraschino cherry is a preserved, sweetened cherry, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries, such as the Royal Ann, Rainier, or Gold varieties. In their modern form, the cherries are first preserved in a brine solution usually containing sulfur dioxide and calcium chloride to bleach the fruit, then soaked in a suspension of food coloring, sugar syrup, and other components. The name and the original fruit is indigenous to Croatia, originally a luxury delicacy of the Dalmatian Coast, specifically Zadar, these cherries were dark, sour, and pitted before being steeped in a spirit distilled from the fruit’s own pits, skins, and leaves.

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