Delightful Discoveries - Cherry Picking 12.09.10

Today's feature color is maraschino cherry pink (or red - your choice!). We're all familiar with the appearance of this rich pinkish red garnish for drinks and ice cream treats - but what do you know about its history?

Originally, maraschino cherries were made from the marasca cherry, a small, black, sour cherry that grew wild along the Dalmatian coast of present-day Croatia (formerly Yugoslavia). These cherries were soaked in a seawater brine first and then soaked in a liqueur made from the cherry's juice, leaves and pits. The remaining liqueur was (and still is) bottled and called (who'd have known) maraschino liqueur. The preserved cherries became a somewhat expensive delicacy favored by royalty and the wealthy.

The modern maraschino cherry is technically more of a candy than it is a fruit. In fact the word "fruit" is pretty much avoided on most labels. Most commercial brands do, however, list multiple kinds of sweeteners including corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sugar and natural flavoring.

Oregon is home to the largest producers of these cherries providing the light-colored Royal Anns, Rainier and Gold varieties which grow there in abundance. These cherries are first preserved in a brine of salt or sulfur dioxide (or both), to remove most of their coloring and taste. Preserved in a solution of sugar syrup and food coloring and pitted at some point in the process, these cherries - especially the more desirable stemmed ones are sought out for cocktails, sundaes and ice cream sodas.

I looked far and wide for items that featured this color - some were tagged fuchsia, other cherry red, still others as hot pink, but whatever you want to call it, maraschino pink is a delight to the eye and as you can see, a color that complements so many other colors perfectly! Enjoy :)

Fuchsia Red Mandala Record Clock from EyePopArt
Alexander Henry Fashionista Hobo Slouch Bag from affordablebagdesign
Queenie Earrings from neawear

The Sunday Drive- vintage inspired photograph of a beautiful ruby red 1950s Ford Truck-11x14 Metallic Fine Art Photo Print from TCaponePhoto
Tubeway Armies Arm Warmers - Cherry Red with Stacked Circles from gayeabandon
Cherry Blossom Wickless Candle from KimberlysCandles

CHERRY BLOSSOMS Women's L/S Tunic Raspberry from whitefishstyle
Caramel and Cherries Zippered Clutch from PurpleFlowerDesigns
Silk Kimono Pillow Blowout Sale/ Kitten Trio / Kimono Lady/ Cherry Blossom...Trio available as a clutch from puck513

NECKLACE SCARF in fuchsia holographic foil on tie dye magenta from PhoenixVisionary
Blooming corsage and hair clip - Christmas from begurple
Cobweb thin Felted Scarf Red Merino wool Silk OOAK Handmade by frenchfelt**

Pink wool felted acorns set of 12 / handmade natural decor from SewnNatural
Cherry Blossom Baby and Toddler Shoes from ramblinrosedesigns

Madeline II Cherry Blossom Pink Hair Flower or Clothing Pin from Silverpencils

Tomorrow's featured color is terra cotta, and I'd love to showcase your terra cotta goodies - so if you have anything you'd like included from your own shop or a favorite shop, please send me the link by clicking on "contact me" in the menu bar at the top of the page!

I hope your Friday gets off to a fun start - Til tomorrow evening, have a great one!


**designates an undiscovered or underdiscovered shop!