Whether it’s one or several perched on the side of a cocktail glass, or nestled in an ice cream sundae, once you’ve tried real maraschino cherries there’s no going back. True maraschinos, deep purple and soaked in marasca cherry juice, are a beguiling luxury, a favourite ingredient of bartenders and pastry chefs alike. And the story of how this tiny Croatian sour cherry grew to become so beloved around the world is a truly fascinating one.

How a fresh cherry becomes a maraschino cherry is, for most people, something of a mystery. The clue is in the name: maraschino. The word comes from marasca, the name of the cherry used to make maraschinos. Marasca cherries are a small, deep red cherry originally from Croatia, but now grown in several countries, including Italy, where LUXARDO are based.

LUXARDO, whose maraschino cherries are often cited by bartenders as being the best in the world, grow all of their cherries locally. They give their own uniquely cultivated species of marasca cherry saplings to local Italian farmers and then buy the cherries back from farmers at market rates.

The maraschino cherry also shares its name with another product – maraschino liqueur. Maraschino liqueur has an even longer history than the cherry, having been enjoyed in Croatia for centuries. Maria Canevari and her husband, LUXARDO’s founder, Girolamo Luxardo, moved to Zadar in the early 1800s and began making the local drink at home. In 1821 they set up a distillery to sell the liqueur commercially, and this is the recipe for maraschino still used by LUXARDO today.

As the name suggests, maraschino cherries were originally made by soaking marasca cherries in maraschino liqueur. However, although the cherries and liqueur still share a name, LUXARDO maraschino cherries are now non-alcoholic, and instead preserved in a marasca cherry juice syrup.

The processes, look and flavour of glacé cherries and maraschino cherries are very different. Glacé cherries are bright red, intensely sweet and almost translucent looking. They are first bleached to remove their natural colour, and then dyed red. They have a faint almond flavour from added almond flavouring, but no cherry flavour, and aren’t made from marasca cherries.

Maraschino cherries on the other hand have a deep purple colour, soft flesh and look quite similar to a fresh cherry. They don’t use any artificial preservatives, aren’t bleached and are also less sweet than glacé cherries. They are made using marasca cherries and LUXARDO maraschino cherries are preserved in marasca cherry juice syrup, and so have a distinctive marasca cherry flavour and aroma.

Despite now being widely produced in Italy, as mentioned above the story of maraschino cherries actually starts in Croatia, where marasca cherries and maraschino liqueur originally come from. After Girolamo Luxardo opened a distillery in Zadar to sell maraschino liqueur commercially, it quickly became recognized for its quality both within the city and around the world. The LUXARDO distillery’s fame and fortune steadily increased for a hundred years, until by the early twentieth century the family had built one of the largest distilleries in Europe.

But fortunes changed during World War II. Allied bombings levelled the distillery among many other buildings in Zadar whilst the city was occupied by German forces. Many Italians were forcibly exiled by occupying Yugoslavian forces after the war, and at least two members of the Luxardo family were killed.

Giorgio Luxardo was the sole survivor of the fourth generation of the Luxardo family. He escaped to Italy where he was able to re-establish a marasca cherry tree orchard in Torreglia. Stories differ as to how he was able to found the orchard -– some say he escaped with a cherry sapling, and others that he contacted an acquaintance who was a botanist, who happened to have a sample of the marasca cherry tree. Either way, Torreglia, which is about 40 miles west of Venice, remains the headquarters of LUXARDO today. A fascinating new museum which tells the story of the LUXARDO brand has just opened there and welcomes visitors.

Whether suspended above a maraschino-infused Last Word cocktail or tucked inside rings of caramelised pineapple, the maraschino cherry is a key element of all sorts of retro desserts. Coconut macaroons and banana splits just wouldn’t be complete without a cherry on top.

But, maraschino cherries can be used as more than just a garnish. They are a handy store cupboard ingredient and do not need to be kept in the fridge. Try them in your baking, such as brownies. Maraschino cherry syrup is delicious drizzled over or swirled into ice cream or paletas and would be a great accompaniment to shaved ice or the base for a sorbet. A few spoonfuls of maraschino cherry syrup takes chocolate and cherry dishes, like Black Forest gâteau or cherry chocolate soufflé to the next level, and the syrup is an easy way to make a cherry-flavoured icing for buttery biscuits. The cherries are delicious in savoury dishes too, served on the side of blue cheese or in a cherry sauce served with pork, while the syrup also pairs well with duck and goose.

If you're interested in trying some recipes that would pair well with LUXARDO maraschino cherries, give the two recipes below a go.