Jerry quits Ben & Jerry's

[Cirsium]

26. You dont want to know

I have watched how the cherries are prepared for cherry ice cream. Soaked in brine, bleached, then artificially colored and flavored. Get real cherries - fresh, frozen, canned or dried - and add them to the cream. Those processed fake cherries are the worst part of the cherry industry here.

Brined cherries are properly matured whole cherries of similar varietal characteristics packed in a solution of sulfur dioxide of sufficient strength to preserve the cherries. Hardening agents usually are added to the solution.

After four to six weeks of storage, brined cherries are ready for finishing. They are removed from the brine and rinsed in water and graded. The cherries are then pitted and stemmed, although in some instances stems are left on the cherries intentionally, to make the cocktail style. The pitted fruit is leached in running water to remove most of the sulfur dioxide.

The cherries are then dyed, preferably with an insoluble food dye such as erythrosine (known as FD&C Red No. 3). Other dyes approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can also be used. Erythrosine is soluble at a pH of 4.5 or higher and precipitates in the tissue of fruit at lower pH so that the color will not leach out or "bleed" to color other fruits with which the cherries may be used, as in the case of canned fruit salad. The pH adjustment can be made with sodium bicarbonate to increase and with citric acid to decrease the pH. The cherries are boiled for about 20 minutes in a 0. 025% to 0.050% erythrosine solution of pH 4.5 or higher. Use enough solution to cover all the cherries.

After cherries and dye solution have cooled and have stood together for 24 hours, 0.25% to 0.50% citric acid by weight is added to bring the pH of the solution to 4.2, and the boiling and standing procedures are repeated in order to set the dye. The cherries are then rinsed in water to remove all dye particles from the surface and pit cavities. The dyed cherries are now boiled in a 30° Brix sirup for 5 to 10 minutes and then are left to stand for 24 hours, during which time the syrup is absorbed. The syrup is removed by draining and sugar is added to it to increase the Brix reading to 40°. Repeat the boiling and standing procedures to build up the sugar content in the cherries. The syrup is drained again, sufficient sugar is added to restore the syrup concentration back to 40° Brix, and imitation cherry flavor is added.

https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/t435gd24k