Marschino Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Bleach and rinse
Make a solution of hot water and sodium bisulfite.
Allow the solution to cool for 12 hours before adding sulfuric acid.
Cover the cherries with the solution for 6 to 8 hours to bleach them.
Rinse the cherries in cold water several times to remove sulfur flavor.
Prepare and process
Stem and pit the cherries.
Blanch the cherries in boiling water for 15 minutes.
Cover the cherries with imitation marschino cordial.
Cap and process for 45 minutes at 180°F (82°C).
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Light skinned cherries
- Form the fruit base, which is pale-colored and bleached to a light appearance.
- Sodium bisulfite
- Bleaches the cherries pale and helps prevent browning during soaking.
- Sulfuric acid
- Acidifies the bleaching solution.
- Imitation marschino cordial
- Supplies the main flavor the cherries absorb once covered in it.
The step that matters
Cool the solution before adding sulfuric acid. Acid combined with sodium bisulfite releases sulfur dioxide gas, which is irritating to breathe. Cooling the solution for 12 hours first reduces the reaction's intensity, and the cherries should then be rinsed well to remove any residual sulfur flavor.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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