Maraschino Cherries Are a Lie

The Real Enemy

These are generally known as “Maraschino Cherries”. I have always loved them.

But you will note that the label in fact says “Maraschino Flavour Cocktail Cherries”.

Those with sulphite allergies and intolerances are recommended to avoid “Maraschino Cherries” like the plague.

They are very heavy in sulphites. Kryptonite to me, these days. Why?

Because they are not maraschino cherries at all. They are ordinary cherries, bleached white and flavourless with sulphur dioxide, dyed a flourescent bright red with chemical dyes, and then flavoured with more chemicals.

And at the end of the process there are plenty of sulphites left over to poison the unwary.

Half a jar of these gave me a three-day headache, accompanied by constant nausea. A few in a cake made me shatteringly tired for several days.

In fact I’d go as far as to say that if you get terrible hangovers from wine, and suspect that you might be sulphite intolerant, then these “fake maraschino” cherries are diagnostic. Eat some. If you get a wretched hangover that goes on for days, you have your answer.

So I was pretty happy to discover these:

These are the real thing! Just maraschino cherries in a sugar syrup. Delicious. No sulphites whatsoever. Ate a jar over a few days with no ill effects.

About twice the price, sadly, but still pretty cheap for a luxury foodstuff. Highly recommended.