The cherries were first introduced in the United States in the late 19th century, where they were served in fine bars and
restaurants. Because they were scarce and expensive, by the turn of the century American producers were experimenting with other processes for preserving cherries, with flavors such as
almond extract and substitute fruit like
Queen Anne cherries. Among these, alcohol was already becoming less common. In response, the
USDA in 1912 defined "maraschino cherries" as "marasca cherries preserved in maraschino" under the authority of the
Food and Drugs Act of 1906. The artificially colored and artificially sweetened Royal Anne variety were required to be called "Imitation Maraschino Cherries" instead. Food Inspection Decision 141 defined marasca cherries and maraschino themselves. It was signed on 17 Feb. 1912. During
Prohibition in the United States as of 1920, the decreasingly popular alcoholic variety was illegal as well.
Ernest H. Wiegand, a professor of
horticulture at
Oregon State University (OSU), developed the modern method of manufacturing maraschino cherries using a brine solution rather than alcohol. Accordingly, most modern maraschino cherries have only a historical connection with maraschino liqueur. According to Bob Cain, Cliff Samuels, and Hoya Yang, who worked with Wiegand at OSU, Prohibition had nothing to do with Wiegand's research: his intention was to develop a better brining process for cherries that would not soften them. When Wiegand began his research, there were several ways to preserve maraschino cherries without alcohol, long before Prohibition went into effect. Wiegand took a process that people had their own recipes for—"and who knows what they were putting in there" (frequently not alcohol)—and turned it into a science, something replicable. When Wiegand began his research,
sodium metabisulfite was being used to preserve maraschino cherries. Some accounts indicate that this preservation method was being used long before Prohibition. Some manufacturers used maraschino or imitation liqueurs to flavor the cherries, but newspaper stories from the early part of the century suggest that many manufacturers stopped using alcohol and artificial dyes before Prohibition. After
Prohibition was repealed, lobbying by the non-alcoholic preserved cherry industry encouraged the
Food and Drug Administration to revise federal policy toward canned cherries. It held a hearing in April 1939 to establish a new
standard of identity. Since 1940, "maraschino cherries" have been defined as "cherries which have been dyed red, infused with sugar, and packed in a sugar syrup flavored with
oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor." In 1975,
William F. Randolph of the
FDA ruled that if an "artificial bitter almond flavor or any synthetic flavor is used, the product must be labeled artificial or artificially flavored." The following year, the ban on Red No. 4 was reinstated. , modern American maraschino cherries typically use
FD&C Red 40 as a colorant. ==See also==