Re: How are marachino cherries made?

From the FDA Compliance Guidelines:
The term "Maraschino Cherries" is regarded as the common or usual name of 
an article consisting of cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated 
with sugar and packed in a sugar sirup flavored with oil of bitter almonds 
or a similar flavor. 

So Maraschino Cherries as sold in the U.S. are colored cherries packed in 
a flavored sugar syrup.

A little bit on the history from the same source:
Food Inspection Decision 141, issued in 1912 under the Food and Drugs Act 
of 1906, stated that "maraschino cherries" should be applied only to 
marasca cherries preserved in maraschino. This decision further described 
maraschino as a liqueur or cordial prepared by process of fermentation and 
distillation from the marasca cherry, a small variety of the European wild 
cherry indigenous to the Dalmatian Mountains. Products prepared from 
cherries of the Royal Anne type, artificially colored and flavored and put 
up in flavored sugar sirup might be labeled "Imitation Maraschino 
Cherries" or, if there was no reference to "Maraschino," might be labeled 
to show that they are preserved cherries, artificially colored and 
flavored. 


Later, evidence submitted at the hearing held in April 1939 for the 
purpose of establishing a standard of identity for canned cherries and 
evidence submitted by a committee representing a trade association showed 
that the term "Maraschino Cherries" had come to mean to the consumer 
cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar and flavored 
with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor. As a result, TC-194, March 
15, 1940, was issued in which it was stated that the Food and Drug 
Administration had reached the conclusion that "Maraschino Cherries" is 
the common or usual name of cherries prepared in this manner. 

No place in this is "tar" mentioned.  It turns out that the dyes used to 
color the cherries a bright red are ofter referred to as "coal tar dyes" 
and appears as such in much of the regulatory verbiage.  These colors are 
derived from petroleum or coal, hence the name.  The dyes must meet 
stringent analytical standards, with each batch of product being required 
to undergo complete testing for batch certification.  These dyes, in food, 
are referred to as FD&C colors or dyes.  The name is unfortunate because 
many people remember only the "tar" part and seem to interpret it as 
meaning that they are eating the same stuff that goes on buildings.