Product Code Database
The marasca cherry (, ) is a type of sour Morello cherry known only from cultivation.Noted as feral ( verwildert) around Malinska Krk island, in C. Studniczka, Beiträge zur Flora von Süddalmatien 1890:75. It is reputed to attain its finest flavor when grown in coastal Croatia (specifically Dalmatia).Strikić, Frane; Radunić, Mira; Vuletin Selak, Gabriela; Čmelik, Zlatko; Družić, Jasmina, "Comparative Advantages of Sour Cherry 'Marasca' ( Prunus cerasus L. var. Marasca) cultivation in Croatia" International conference of "Perspectives in European Fruit Growing", Lednice, Češka Republika, 18-20. October 2006 ( on-line abstract).
The fruit's largest yield is in Malinska (17. Travnja street) in Croatia, but it has been successfully cultivated in northern Italy, Slovenia, southern Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It has become naturalized in North America, The Timber Press Dictionary of Plant Names 2010, s.v. "Prunus" 609. though, while this is the original base cherry used for it, the maraschino cherry of American commerce is the Royal Ann variety of sweet cherry. The variety was first published by Roberto de Visiani in Flora dalmatica, 1850.
The name marasca comes from the Italian word amarasca, from amaro, which stems from the Latin word amārus (meaning 'bitter').
Compared to other cherries, the fruit of the marasca cherry tree is small, with Anthocyanin accounting for its dark, near black colour.Branka Levaj, Verica Dragović-Uzelac, Sandra Pedisić, Dubravka Škevin, "Effect of maturity and geographical region on Aathocyanin content of sour cherries ( Prunus cerasus var. marasca), Food Technology & Biotechnology, January 2010 (on-line
Its bitter taste and drier pulp make marasca cherries ideal for creating fine cherry liqueur.
By definition,"maraschino". Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 20 Jun. 2013.
|
|
