I once had a recipe for a brandied type fruit that you began with a starter liquid from a friend. You then added fruit or sugar at prescribed times. It all fermented wonderfully and could be used for a Friendship Fruit Cake or simply used as topping for ice cream or pound cake. If anyone has any info I would certainly appreciate it. I'd like to get it started so I can make some for Christmas. Does anyone know how I might get it started? Thanks. Debbie

-- Debbie in S IL (dc1253@hcis.net), October 09, 2001

Answers

I am sure there are several recipes and I look forward to making other friendship cakes, here is the one I have.

Friendship cake

Total ingredients needed for 3 cakes

1 1/2C starter from a friend (or see end of recipe) 7 1/2C sugar 1 lg (29oz) can sliced peaches 1 lg (20oz) can pineapple chunks 2 (17oz) can apricot halves 2 (16oz) jars maraschino cherries 3 yellow or white cake mixes (with pudding in the mix) OR 3 sm boxes vanilla instant pudding 2 C oil 12 eggs 3 C chopped walnuts or pecans (substitute or omit as desired)

Notes: Please read 1st, makes it easier later

Cut all fruit into bite size pieces before adding them to the container. Do not refrigerate any of the above ingredients or juice at any time - leave at room temperature

Use a wide top container for the fruit and leave the lid slightly ajar. The fruit will bubble and the gases need to escape 4 - 6 oz insert from a crock pot works well or the giant jars from pickles etc from Costco or Smart & Final

Starter juices will NOT freeze. To much sugar

You must use the rounded bottom Bundt cake pan or the cake will not cook evenly.

You must cook ONE cake at a time. The cakes are very dense and 2 in the same oven just won't work well.

Grease the pan thoroughly with shortening and dust with sugar. The cake won't stick at all if you do.

The cakes freeze very well. And they slice easily once well cooled.

Fermenting the fruit

1st day

To the 1 1/2C starter (in a 2gallon container) add the can of peaches with juice and 2 1/2 C sugar. Stir well.

Stir jar every day

10th day

Add the pineapple with the juice and 2 1/2C sugar

20th day

Add the cherries first then the apricots. The cherry juice MUST go in, if you're running out of room, leave out the juice of the apricots.

30th day is baking day.

preheat oven 350

Divide the fruit into thirds, (saving some of the starter to share).

Mix 1 box cake mix, pudding, 4 eggs, 2/3 C oil. Blend well, fold in 1/3 of the fruit. Pour into well greased and sugared bundt pan and bake for 50-70. (My oven to 70 min)

To make starter for Friendship Cake 3/4C peaches 3/4C pineapple 6 cherries cut in half 1 1/2C sugar 1pkg instant blend dry yeast or quick rise yeast Stir several times and every day for 2 weeks.

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), October 09, 2001.

On a similar note, does anyone know how to "maraschino" cherries? Surely there's a way to candy them, but I've not found anything in my books...

-- Leslie (whomestead@hotmail.com), October 09, 2001.

Leslie,

perhaps this will help, recipes at end of article.

Cherries come in red, green, blue, orange and white

By René Featherstone

Washington State orchardists probably have a hard time recognizing their Royal Ann and Van cherries, once Johnson Fruit of Sunnyside is through with them.

Green, mint-flavored cherries in a jar is just one of the products the company sells, along with blue curaçao, orange citrus, and white piña colada cherries.

These are new twists on the maraschino cherry, invented in Dalmatia, a part of Yugoslavia. There, the cherries are pounded, the pits are crushed, honey is added, and the mixture is left to ferment before being distilled. Prior to bottling, the mixture is sweetened with sugar, resulting in a clear liqueur that is 60 to 78% proof. Its distinctive flavor comes from the type of cherry used, the Marasca. Cherries preserved in the liqueur became known as maraschino cherries.

From Dalmatia, the maraschino cherry went out to conquer the sweet-toothed world, splitting the population into two camps.

"People either love maraschino cherries, or they couldn't care less about them," says Pete Krause, who for the past 20 years has dealt with every conceivable aspect of the maraschino business, from procuring raw product to global marketing.

Modern-day production of maraschino (pronounced mar-a-skee-no or mar-a-shee-no) differs greatly from Dalmatian tradition, of course.

Krause had worked for a large maraschino cherry processor in San Jose, California, for 18 years before George Johnson lured him to the Yakima Valley, where Johnson had a cherry pitting and destemming operation. The two men met when Krause was in the Pacific Northwest buying cherries for the San Jose outfit.

Last year, Johnson purchased a plant in Sunnyside that had been a custom cannery. Hogue Cellars and Gary Stonemetz bought the plant 10 years ago to phase out the custom canning and switch to production of specialty foods, such as pickled asparagus, peas, beans, bell peppers, carrots, and tomatoes in oil.

After Johnson took over the plant, Stonemetz stayed on to manage the pickling and canning side of the business, while Krause moved up to Washington to run the maraschino cherry business. By adding the cherry processing, Johnson provides year-round work for about 20 people, in addition to seasonal work of pitting and destemming for 40 workers, Krause says.

Traveling to buy cherries suits Krause. Johnson has a complete program in that the company buys fruit from pollenizers as well as slightly rain-damaged cherries for the juicer, briner, and freezer markets. Of those, freezer cherries fetch the highest price, with the briner price between juicers and freezers.

For maraschinos, the cherries should measure from 17 to 24 millimeters (21.5 millimeters corresponds to 12-row.) A low-sugar cherry is preferred. Royal Ann is the most sought-after variety, which is why the three big Northwest maraschino cherry producers are located in Oregon, where the variety is more widely grown. Van is the second best choice.

At the plant, the first step after pitting is to "semi-preserve" the cherries by dumping them in bins with rigid plastic liners and covering them with brine. Krause says it's a five-week curing process to draw all the sugar and color out of the cherry. The brine consists of water, sulfur dioxide as a preservative, and calcium chloride for firmness. Just before further processing, the brine is flushed out.

Next, the pale, yellowish-white cherries float in large vats in another five-day process that injects sugar.

"It's kind of interesting," notes Krause. "If sugar is injected too fast, the cherries go into sugar shock. They shrivel up like a prune."

The vats are heated to about 120°F, and the liquid sugar is added as the water evaporates from the vats. Slowly, a sugar level of 38 Brix is attained.

Then comes the coloring, with artificial food coloring. Researchers at Oregon State University are working on a way to use a natural red color derived from radishes for the traditional red maraschino cherries.

Artificial flavor is added to the syrup, which contains the juice from the cherries that is saved during the process. The syrup is not pumped until the cherries go down a sorting and grading belt and are put into jars, anywhere from 16 ounces to one gallon size.

After such a long process, the maraschino cherry certainly deserves its typical crowning place atop an exotic cocktail. Consumption, one cherry at a time, makes the maraschino cherry industry a small world, almost like a family, Krause comments. There are about ten major producers in the United States: three in Oregon, two in California, and the rest in the East, although they, too, buy West Coast cherries. The Maraschino Cherry Association is headquartered in New Jersey.

As "the new kid on the block," Johnson of Sunnyside has had to look to new markets. The domestic market for maraschinos is a tight fit, Krause points out. The bulk of the product is distributed by just a few very large national wholesalers, and trying to break into that established market would probably mean stepping on someone's toes, he says.

Instead, Krause has focused on overseas business. "I've never been in sales before," he relates. "I'm enjoying that part, actually. It gives me a good goal to increase the sales. The most challenging aspect is to forecast the sales so that our product lasts us until the next harvest."

Krause found that maraschino cherries are used differently in Pacific Rim countries. Mostly, they're sweet highlights adorning cakes, which, by American standards, are somewhat bland. Maraschino cherries as an exciting touch on cakes are in demand in various colors and flavors, particularly in Korea, and experimenting with mint, orange, curaçao, etc., has added a whole new dimension to maraschino cherry production.

At Johnson's, Gloria Meiser has done much of the lab work, sampling and cooking up batches of kaleidoscopic sweetness. Orange colored and flavored maraschino cherries seem to be a favorite with many people who try the different maraschino types, Krause said.

In Europe, too, the nontraditional colors and flavors seem to be the vogue, though not on dessert as much as in drinks. In Poland, for instance, piña colada drinkers like their maraschino cherry piña colada-flavored, and off-white.

It could be that Johnson's timing in starting a Washington-based maraschino plant was just right.

"We've been selling through brokers mostly," Krause said. "Ninety-nine percent of our product goes out of country. But it's been surprisingly easy to make direct contacts. When we started up our operation last year, I quoted our sales estimate at 15,000 cases during a TV interview. It turned out that our sales topped 35,000 last year, and this year we're projecting sales pushing the 40,000-case mark."

Copyright © 1996, Good Fruit Grower http://www.goodfruit.com/archive/August_96/feature2.html

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05 Title: Maraschino Cherries Categories: Yield: 6 servings 4 1/2 lb Pitted red cherries 4 1/2 lb White sugar 3 c Water Juice of 1 lemon 1 oz Almond extract 1 oz Red coloring

MMMMM---------------------------BRINE----------------- 2 qt Water 2 tb Salt 1 ts Alum Soak pitted cherries overnight in heated brine. The next morning, drain cherries. Rinse in cold water. Combine cherries, water, sugar, lemon juice, and red coloring. Heat to boiling point. Let stand 24 hours. Again boil juices, pour over cherries and let stand 24 hours. Bring to boil again. Add almond extract and cherries. Pack in hot sterilized jars and seal. **Water Bath Time from The Ball Blue Book- pints 20 min, quarts 25 min. MMMMM http://www.hugs.org/Maraschino_Cherries.shtml

* Exported from MasterCook II * MARASCHINO CHERRIES Recipe By : The Cook's Book of Uncommon Recipes Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Misc Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 5 pounds Royal Anne cherries (Royal Annes are best, but you can also use other firm, light cherries) 1 tablespoon alum (pharmacies carry this if you can't find it at your supermarket) 4 tablespoons salt (use kosher or pickling salt, not table salt) 7 cups sugar 1 ounce red food coloring 1 teaspoon almond extract Wash and remove the seeds from the cherries. (A cherry pitter is a handy tool to use for this.) You should have about 10 cups of pitted cherries when you finish. Dissolve the alum and the salt in 2 quarts of cold water. Add the cherries and allow to stand for 6 hours. (If the cherries tend to float, weight them down with a bowl.) Drain the cherries and rinse them with cold water. In a separate large pan, combine the sugar and 2 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook while you stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cherries, bring back to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the red food coloring and almond extract and allow to stand in a cool place for 24 hours, stirring from time to time. The next day, bring to cherries back to a boil and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Pour the boiling hot fruit into the prepared half-pint jars and process them for 5 minutes. Store in a cool place. YIELD: about 8 half pints - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Truly, these are not hard to make...and they look beautiful. You'll find them to be a little larger and juicier than the ones you buy in those little bottles at the store. These make a nice gift. Making Maraschino Cherries is a two day job, however, so be sure you allow the time you will need. http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/condiments/01/rec0102.html

Maraschino Cherries

5 lbs sweet cherries, pitted 4 lbs sugar 2 tsp red food coloring 4 tsp almond extract 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Put cherries and sugar into a large saucepan, stir gently until juices begin to form, and cook slowly until thick. Remove from heat and add food coloring, almond extract and lemon juice. Cook 10 to 15 minutes longer, then pack hot in sterilized jars. Seal with sterilized lids and rings. Process in boiling-water bath 20 minutes. Cool, test the seal (the jars are completely sealed if the lid is concave), store in a cool dark place to preserve the rich color.

http://recipes.alastra.com/preserving/maraschino-cherries02.html

(I find it easier to pit cherries if they are very cold.)

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), October 10, 2001.

i know exactly what you are referring to, but do not have the receipe either. would love to have it. it isn't part of a cake receipe, but as you say could be used with cake or ice cream. hope someone out their has it.

-- amy (amy_tarr@hotmail.com), October 11, 2001.

It's called Rumtopf and I used to make it for gifts at the holidays every year. Here's the recipe I have:

find a large, wide mouth stoneware crock that will hold about 20 cups. Use the best fresh fruit you can find, with no blemishes, and the best rum or brandy you can afford.

Fruit may include: strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, melons, pineapple, cherries or grapes, in any combination. Remove stones and cores, and peels if you desire,. Cut fruit to uniform size, about the same size as the strawberries.

Start with 2 pounds of fresh strawberries. Sprinkle with one pound of sugar (superfine dissolves best) and let stand overnight on the counter. Pour into the container, then just cover with brandy or rum. Cover with plastic wrap and weight down with a saucer or other object to the fruit is submerged.

As you find good feruit, keep adding to the pot, together with half the fruit's weight in sugar. Add liquor to cover each addition.

When the Rumtopf is full, cover with plastic wrap and leave a month in a cool, dark place.

You can either spoon out of the mixture into gift jars or, if you have the jars ahead of time, you can do the whole process in individual jars by dividing the fruit, suar and liquor among them.

To serve: This is a marvelous sauce for ice cream or pound cake, or serve with crepes.

Hope this is the one you were looking for.

-- Rose Marie Wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), October 13, 2001.