Maraschino Cherries – Health Benefits, Uses and Important Facts

Cherries are often used for chocolate, cola, and other tasty delicacies. The bright crimson, sugary-sweet maraschino cherries are a popular garnish for ice cream sundaes and vintage cocktails.

Yet, maraschino cherries aren't actually harvested from trees. They have undergone a great deal of transformation during the course of their history.

They were first produced in the 1800s in what is now Croatia, but the manufacturing technique and applications have altered greatly in commercial versions since then.

Certain cocktails call for maraschino cherries, and they can also be used as a garnish for glazed ham, parfaits, milkshakes, cakes, and pastries. You can also get them in canned fruit blends.

How are Maraschino cherries made? 

Maraschino cherries are a type of preserved, sugared cherry often prepared from white sweet cherry varieties like Rainier, Royal Ann, and Gold. To start, cherries are immersed in a suspension of food colouring, sugar syrup, and other components after being preserved in a brine solution containing calcium chloride and sulphur dioxide to bleach fruit. Maraschino cherries, sometimes referred to simply as "cocktail cherries," are a popular addition to a wide variety of mixed drinks. Cherries used to make Maraschino sauce are literally preserved in brine, with chemicals added to whiten the fruit. These typically have a lot of high fructose corn syrup in them. The sugar syrup has food colouring added to it, most often FD&C Red 40m, to get its vivid hue. Maraschinos are red in colour and feature the classic flavour of oil of bitter almond. Flavor and colour profiles could be tailored during production. For example, they are frequently used as a garnish for baked ham, frozen yoghurt, parfaits, pastries, milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, and ice cream sodas.

Origin of Maraschino cherries:

 They are said to have originated in the wild somewhere between the Caspian and Black oceans. Cherries are first cultivated in Greece around 300 B.C., and then in Italy not long after that. Cherries were introduced to England by the Romans in the early first century, and by the 16th century, a wide variety of cherry trees could be found across the country. The French settlers in the Maritimes of Canada introduced the cherries. It was common for English colonists to plant cherry trees in New England. Cherries, according to the records, were widely grown in Virginia in the second part of the 17th century. By the middle of the 1700s, a nursery on Long Island was stocking more than 20 species of grafted trees for sale. Cherry was one fruit that pioneers took west with them.

Are Maraschino cherries healthy?

Raw cherries have several health benefits, while maraschino cherries have none. Sweet, raw cherries have sugar and fibre already present in their natural form. Potassium is another nutrient that cherries provide in plenty. ‌‌

Corn syrup and artificial preservatives are used to keep maraschino cherry in cans. Most of the sweetness comes from extra sugar, although they still have nearly three times as much as raw cherries. ‌

The quality of homemade maraschino cherries does not improve upon store-bought ones. One cup of fruit juice and one cup of sugar are used to make them. Use raw sweet cherries as a topping for your dessert or drink instead of dried or canned cherries to cut down on your sugar intake.

Difference between raw cherries and Maraschino cherries:

Sweet cherries, when eaten in their raw form, are a fantastic source of natural sugar and fibre in addition to being rich in the minerals potassium, copper, magnesium,  and iron.

Unfortunately, the substantial processing and addition of sugar to Maraschino cherry means that they are not as healthful as their raw counterparts.

Added sugar makes Maraschino cherries nearly three times as sweet as raw cherries. Choose raw sweet cherries over dried or canned ones if you're looking to cut down on your sugar intake but still use them as a topping for a dessert or drink.

How to eat Maraschino cherries? 

• Maraschino cherries are a popular addition to cocktail garnishes.
• In addition, it is often eaten straight from the bag.
• Put it in jars, bake it into pies, or dry it to use later.
• You can make healthy cooking oil from seeds.
• In this case, the refined oil is put to use in salads.
• Tea leaves are utilised instead.
• It is common practice to use gum obtained from the trunk for this purpose.
• Use it in your cakes and breads.
• Make a sweet juice out of it and store it in jars.