maraschino cherries
Posted by lime green on Sep 30, 2007 · Member since Apr 2007 · 634 posts
i drank a manhattan last night, and a friend said that maraschino cherries are not vegan. something about egg whites in the preservation liquid. does anyone know for sure?
i spose its like everything else, there is the potential that it could be non-vegan. if i was going to be especially anal about it, i'd be wanting to know the sources of the alcohol, or the sulfur (in sulfur dioxide) that preserved the cherries before they ended up in the syrup, the source of the sugar in the syrup (bone char filtered or not) the specific food colouring used to make them red (could be cochineal/carmine), and exactly what was in the almond flavouring (who knows) for a start. and then i could get into the glue and ink on the jar label, and check if that was animal based. but how practicable would my life be if i thought like that? if i was you, i'd just look at the food colourings and the other ingredients listed on the label, pick out obviously not cool stuff, and hope for the best on the rest, i think.
Well I like making (and eating ;)) Pineapple upside down cake (with marchino cherries) and I haven't died yet so unless it varies by brand I doubt they have egg in them.
I haven't been able to find out if it's veggie or not.
I just looked up one brand and it listed these ingredients on the label
cherries, water, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate added as preservatives, FD&C red #40 and sulfur dioxide(preservative)
So not exactly health food, but nothing really offensively non-vegan either (of course this depends on what kind of vegan you decide to be, etc). But in terms of no eggs, dairy, or honey--they're fine.
i watched a video on how they make those things and was seriously grossed out. they BLEACH them then add the red dye. yuck.
My cousin always used to call them "cancer balls".
I wish my contribution was more substatial, but that's what I got folks...