These homemade candied cherries (glacé cherries) are so much better than the ones you find at the store. They’re also easy to make, healthier, and perfect for so many British baked goods!
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Before I share a classic Scottish bakery recipe called Empire Biscuits (I’ve since posted the recipe)!
I want you to have the option to make these candied or glacé cherries. They are a significant part of the biscuits looking like the genuine thing, so you have an option instead of having to buy a chemical-laden version.
Here’s an example of the ingredient list of a typical candied cherry product here in the US:
- Cherries, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (preservatives), FD&C Red #40, Sulfur dioxide (preservative).
No thank you! Besides the two types of corn syrup, how many of the other ingredients are actually natural? Not many!
In fact, many vintage and classic British recipes include glacé cherries. Take a look at how many of the desserts include candied cherries in the center of this old Scottish cookbook.
I slightly adapted a King Arthur recipe for these after finding some natural Maraschino cherries to make them with. It’s really nice to have options!
Homemade Candied Cherries
(Homemade Glacé Cherries)
slightly adapted from a King Arthur recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (in the UK, 16 oz of the cherries measured in a measuring jug) natural Maraschino cherries, drained (I found these on Amazon)
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) sugar
- 1/3 cup (2.5 oz) juice from the cherries
Put the juice and sugar in a heavy bottom pot and bring to a simmer (without stirring, just swirl the pot) for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the cherries and continue to simmer slowly for about 45 minutes, turning now and then.
They will start to wrinkle and begin to look like candied cherries.
When it gets to the 45 minute mark, use a candy thermometer to check the liquid. It should reach the soft ball stage (about 237°F/113°C).
Remove from the heat and place on a tray. I used a silicone mat with good results.
Use them as desired, keeping the extras in a sealed container in the refrigerator (they should last over 6 months if they have been candied properly).
Homemade Candied Cherries (Glacé Cherries)
Homemade candied/glacé cherries.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (in the UK, 16 oz of the cherries measured in a measuring jug) natural Maraschino cherries, drained
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) sugar
- 1/3 cup (2.5 oz) juice from the cherries
Instructions
- Put the juice and sugar in a heavy bottom pot and bring to a simmer (without stirring, just swirl the pot) for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the cherries and continue to simmer slowly for about 45 minutes, turning now and then.
- They will start to wrinkle and begin to look like candied cherries.
- When it gets to the 45 minute mark, use a candy thermometer to check the liquid. It should reach the soft ball stage (about 237°F/113°C).
- Remove from the heat and place on a tray. I used a silicone mat with good results.
- Use them as desired, keeping the extras in a sealed container in the refrigerator (they should last over 6 months if they have been candied properly)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 50 Serving Size: 1 cherryAmount Per Serving:Calories: 18Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g
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I don’t see why fresh cherries couldn’t be used. The boring part would be taking the stones (seeds) out but maybe cook them for a little longer just to be sure, and use them within a few days. I have made candied peel from oranges and they store ok in an airtight jar. I add them to my Christmas cake mix and they have so much more flavour than the bought ones.
I would imagine that cherries are similar. It would be great to have cakes with as many home-made ingredients as possible, just like they did centuries ago.
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Thanks very much for the recipe. I was wondering how long we should let the candied cherries stand, when on parchment (step 5), before jarring them? I assume they are not meant to dry and harden (crystalise), as in the case of candied peel?
Correct, Jeremy. Just until the cool to room temperature, so not too long at all, maybe 1/2 hr? They will still be a little sticky (as is the nature of glacé cherries.) Enjoy!
Hi, can I make cherry glace with fresh cherries? How about the juice? I really want to try this recipe. Sounds great..
No, Sila. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know how to adapt this recipe for fresh cherries. :(
I’m a boring cook. Every week I make butter shortbread biscuits and rock cakes. I’d like to try something different and as we have a bumper crop of cherries on our tree this year, I’m going to have a go. Let you know how I get on.
Hi Peter, I dont’ know if you can make these straight from fresh cherries as they need to be under “juice” like the ones I bought. Let me know if you manage, though!
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[…] candied fruit. You can glacé wedges of citron, slices of orange, halved and stoned stone fruit, stalk-on cherries, whole clementines or even a pineapple with its crown intact. To be sure, it is the very definition […]
[…] candied fruit. You can glacé wedges of citron, slices of orange, halved and stoned stone fruit, stalk-on cherries, whole clementines or even a pineapple with its crown intact. To be sure, it is the very definition […]
[…] candied fruit. You can glacé wedges of citron, slices of orange, halved and stoned stone fruit, stalk-on cherries, whole clementines or even a pineapple with its crown intact. To be sure, it is the very definition […]
Hi Christina.I’m from Pakistan. Have a small garden of about 100 trees of local & French cherries up in the north. Travelling transportation takes about 3 days. Please let me know how to preserve my fruit/pulp so as to bring it down south & sell it. Thanks.
Oh my goodness! What a great idea! Thanks for this.
Great, hope you enjoy them, Mimi! THanks!
Will you tell me the title the”old scottish cookbook “?
It looks good so I want to take a look at it.
Sure, it’s a Lofty Peak cookbook (it was a flour company). I doubt you’ll be able to find any though as they were spiral bound and probably all fallen apart by now. Good luck, though.
Thank you so much!
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I used to love eating those cherries in my Shirley Temples when I was a kid…then I found out what was in them. For years my daughters thought they they were inedible because I told them they we just for “show”. :-) I love your idea…the maraschinos get great reviews on Amazon too!
I have never liked Maraschino cherries from the jar. But yours look so fresh and delicious. I must try them.
MUCH different than those store-bought ones, Cathy!
These would be the perfect decoration for my Baba au Rhum! I absolutely hated the ones I got online… thanks for sharing the recipe! And for the source to find natural maraschino cherries.
Yes, the purchased ones are just so FAKE!
These look *so* much better than the stuff you buy in jars, Christina. Happy Easter!
Thanks, Frank! Happy Easter to you, too!
I will have to try this. I always enjoy cooking projects like this one, and my 13 yr old LOVES cherries of any sort. And I’m loving your vintage cookbook! Happy Easter! :-)
That would be fun to do with your son! Happy Easter to you, too, Valentina!
Wow! No wonder you want to make your own glacé cherries with these ingredients. We’re lucky in France as we have the best glacé/candied fruit in the world in Provence and I regularly get our stock of cherries where my parents-in-law live in Apt. But now you’ve tempted me, too, to make my own. Lovely!
Oh you just wouldn’t believe what is offered to us in the US. Would make your head spin, Jill. You are so lucky to be able to have such wonderful, REAL ingredients at your disposal!
Beautiful cherries. I hope to candy orange peels one day. Maybe glace cherries will follow. As soon as I buy a proper candy thermometer because the cheap ones I have aren’t very accurate.
Sounds like a good plan! :)
Have you ever glaceed any other fruits to use in Cassata, for example? I would love to do that.
No, but I would just follow this same recipe! Good idea!