Canned Maraschino Cherries - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sea salt
2 lbs pitted sweet cherries, Rainier preferred
4 cups sugar
2 limes, juiced
1 cup dark cherries, mashed
brandy
maraschino juice or brandy
1 teaspoon bitter almond extract (optional)

Preparation

Brine cherries by bringing 6 cups of water to a boil and adding 3 tablespoons of sea salt; use a salt with no additives to ensure glossy-looking fruit (table salt can have all kinds of things in it). Remove brine from heat. Halve and pit the cherries, adding them as you go to the still-warm liquid, then let the cherries sit in liquid overnight, at least, in the fridge.
Once the cherries are brined, bring the sugar, lime juice, and 3 cups of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the mashed cherries for a deeper, natural color (however, the cherries look pretty cool and slightly alien without it). Let this mixture reduce by a third, then cool. Drain the cherries and rinse them of brine. In a large, airtight jar, add the sugar mixture and the drained cherries. Top with at least a cup of Maraska maraschino liqueur, available at many downtown liquor stores, or substitute a spirit like bourbon or brandy. Because the cherries are preserved in alcohol, a snap-shut glass jar with a rubber gasket works just fine. They will easily keep in your refrigerator for a few months.