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The Art and Science of a Diana
Cherry
Sweet cherries destined to become Diana maraschinos are
primarily grown in the Pacific Northwest and California,
Royal Anne, Rainier and Bing are favored varieties due
to their size and strong stems
The Diana maraschino process is a science and an art form.
Very simply stated, it involves: selecting premium fruit,
brining the fresh cherries, categorizing by size, sorting,
pitting, flavoring, preserving and packaging.
History of the Maraschino Cherry
The sweet sundae-topper has its origins in Yugoslavia
and northern Italy. For centuries, merchants had used
marascas - small, bitter, black wild cherries - to make
a sweet liqueur. Part of the flavor came from crushed
cherry stones, which have an almond-like flavor. Marascara
cherries preserved in the cherry liqueur were imported
into the United States in the 1890s. These maraschino
cherries were an expensive luxury served at the finest
hotels.
With typical ingenuity, American cherry processors figured
out a way to make a less expensive version. They used
Royal Anne cherries, less liqueur, and almond oil instead
of crushed cherry pits. In the 1920s, alcohol was eliminated
altogether when horticulturalist Ernest Wiegand found
a way to preserve cherries using brine instead of alcohol.
The American version of the maraschino became so popular
that it completely replaced the foreign import.
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