Maraschino Cherries, Take Two

Cherries were on sale!  'Nuff said.

No, really.  They were $1.99 a pound.  How could I pass that up?  And we were down to 2 jars of maraschinos from last year.  I asked my husband if he wanted me to make another batch and he said, "Well, then maybe these ones won't be so dear and I'll actually eat them."  How sweet, he was saving them for a special occasion!

Yesterday I pitted them, all 4.5 pounds of them, sideways.  I wanted to leave the stems on this time, and with a little patience it is possible to pit them sideways.  They look somewhat Magritte-like in that you can see right through the hole in their middles.  Some had really crisp edges, too, which also made me think of Magritte.  Surrealist cherries!

Cherries in brine

They finished their brine soak this morning and are currently in the red syrup.  Tomorrow they get strained, the syrup gets boiled and the almond extract (the real stuff this time, purchased at Penzey's) will be added, then they will get put up in jars.  Should get about 4 pints again.  I don't know if I'll save the extra syrup this time; we don't really use the other batch all that much - too sweet for pancakes or waffles.