I'm gathering ingredients in preparation for making the five-spice pickled cherries again. I was reminded of this thread by a friend who just pickled some cherries with three different flavor mixes:

"Type 1: maraschino (sour cherry simple syrup, maraschino liqueur, almond)
Type 2: cinnamon (sour cherry simple syrup, maraschino liqueur,
cinnamon stick, whole cloves, rye, creme de violet)
Type 3: anise (rosemary simple syrup, Benedictine liquor, rosemary sprig, whole cloves, peppercorns, star anise, Byrrh, absinthe)

We used sour cherries from Michigan, as recommended in multiple forums, but also tried a batch of each with Rainier cherries from Washington, just to know. We'll be canning some and using some fresh (after soaking for three weeks), again just to know the difference.

Also, we left the stones in..."

Cathy2 or anyone else, can you tell me if these recipes need modification (e.g., a certain amount of vinegar added) to be suitable for water-bath canning? I asked my friend what recipes he's following but haven't heard back.

Katie,

You don't need to add vinegar (unless you prefer the taste of it). The alcohol is all you need.

If you haven't already, you may want to check out these two discussions about making cocktail cherries.

viewtopic.php?p=329715#p329715

viewtopic.php?p=141778#p141778

Thanks, Darren!

Hi,

Cherries are a fruit and naturally acidic. You have nothing to worry about there.

Regards,

Katie - one thing to add is that cherries in alcohol will last indefinitely in the fridge. You only need to process them in a water bath if you want to store them, before they are opened, outside a fridge.

Ah, okay, that all makes sense. Thanks very much for the additional information, Cathy and Darren. I think I'll skip the canning attempt then and just keep them in the fridge.

Ready for action! Note the QC manager in the background

Another idea: Cherry Bounce... and you have enough time to enjoy it for the holidays!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... nce-394679