Every time, I�ve decided to do some canning this summer I am reminded of my grandmother and my mom.
When I was growing up in Nebraska, these two matriarchs would spend countless hours in the kitchen preserving our garden�s apples, cherries, peaches and pears. I remember the canning process being a hot mess in the kitchen. Come winter though, I certainly didn�t mind having a bowl of preserved peaches for dessert.
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| It's the very end of cherry season at Hala Mirowska. |
But I know my grandmother never would have thought about making a batch of boozy cherries like I did. For whatever reason, I decided I wanted to preserve some cherries and started looking for recipe ideas online. My husband likes making Manhattans now and then, so homemade maraschino cherries sounded like a good recipe.
Yet, most of the recipes I found called for ingredients that I don�t have such as:
Pomegranate juice
Pure cherry juice
Almond extract
Italian maraschino liqueur made from Marasca cherries
Sure, I�ll run right out to my nearest Trader Joe�s or Whole Foods. Oh, like 5,000 miles away from Poland! Maybe some of the ingredients can be found here, but I don�t know yet.
The Poles do make their own cherry liqueur, but the flavor reminds me a bit of cherry-flavored Nyquil. I don�t mind this liqueur as a shot now and then, but I didn�t want to steep a batch of fresh cherries in it.
So, let�s talk about commercial maraschino cherries. Have you ever looked at the ingredient listing on the back? It�s pretty disgusting! The label reads: cherries, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, FD&C red #40 (a petroleum-based product for that neon red color) and sulfur dioxide. (You can read how American maraschino cherries are basically bleached and processed here.)
I even found neon green and blue processed cherries at the store. Yuck!
So I found a way to make my own boozy cherries using whiskey. Bourbon would work well too. I don�t like drinking Manhattans, but I did like the flavor of these delicious boozed-up cherries. The recipe couldn�t be simpler too, I promise!
Cheers! Serefe! Na zdrowie!
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| Boozy sour cherries are the perfect garnish for a Manhattan cocktail. |
Boozy Sour Cherries
Yields: 4-5 pints
Yields: 4-5 pints
500 g. (16 oz.) sour cherries (pitted) (Frozen ones would work here.)
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 ea. vanilla bean, split2
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 ea. vanilla bean, split2
1-2 ea. cinnamon stick
220 g. (1 c.) granulated sugar
500 ml. (2 c.) whiskey or bourbon
220 g. (1 c.) granulated sugar
500 ml. (2 c.) whiskey or bourbon
In a medium-sized pot, combine your booze of choice with the sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, sugar and lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. If you have a gas burner, be very careful so your pot doesn�t flame up.
Place cherries in the jars. Ladle hot liquid into the jars, leaving a �-inch headspace. Seal.
You can either refrigerate the jars now, or proceed with canning. Place jars into boiling water and process for 10 minutes.
Once canned, let cool. Age in a cool, dark place.
So, who wants a jar of boozy sour cherries for Christmas?
More recipes:
This NY Times recipe for Maraschino Cherries is popular.
More cherry ideas from a fabulous preserving site called Punk Domestics.