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The original recipe called for grape juice, but I switched it to pomegranate to give it more of a grenadine flavor (if you don't know that grenadine comes from pomegranate juice, be sure to read my post on homemade grenadine). I also removed the almond extract (I'm just not a big fan of it) and added orange peel on the wonderful suggestion of my husband.
Yield: 1 pound of "maraschino" cherries
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 fluid ounces lemon juice (juice from about 3 lemons)
pinch of salt
1 whole piece star anise
Peel from one large orange
1 pound pitted cherries (any kind will do, but I used Rainier cherries)
Directions:
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, add everything except the cherries.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, stirring periodically.
Add the cherries.
Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or until the syrup has a bit of a cherry flavor. (Yes, tasting is part of the recipe. This is the rough part. :)) You don't want to cook the cherries - you just want to bring out some of their flavor.
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the entire contents to a bowl (so it doesn't continue cooking).
Let cool to room temperature.
Transfer to an air-tight container and refrigerate.
Wait about three days and then top your cupcakes, shakes, ice cream sodas, sundaes, Shirley Temples, and anything else you can think of with them.
I know that you are going to ask me how long the cherries last for. I don't have an answer for you. I intend to use mine up within a couple of weeks. You'll see the cupcakes that they topped featured here in the near future.
http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2012/07/homemade-maraschino-cherries-this-time
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