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A History of Cherry Cordials for Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2012 by

When we think of cherry cordials now, we think of chocolate-covered cherries filled with a sweet syrup. However, the cordial reaches a bit farther back than the tasty treats we associate with the holiday season.

The word “cordial” contains the word “cor,” which means “heart” in Latin. As a noun, cordial can mean medicine or medicinal food or drink and the cordial was originally used as a type of medical tonic. Cordials were believed to stimulate the heart and therefore improve circulation.

The medicinal use of the cordial continued until the 1400’s when it arrived in England. They were “taken” after excessive eating to settle the stomach and aide digestion and became known as “surfeit waters.” Not only that but they were considered aphrodisiacs. By the 1700’s cordials were becoming known for their intoxicating effects as well, which probably helped with the aphrodisiac thing (fewer inhibitions, if ya know what I mean).

Around the same time, a confection called griottes popped up in the Franche-Comté. They were made by enclosing long stalked sour griotte cherries in chocolate with a little kirsch. Both the griottes and the cordial traveled to America where adding a bit of the sweet, aromatic, and alcoholic cordial to the chocolate covered fruit seemed like a great idea.

In America, the term cordial was used to describe a particular type of strong liqueur with a distinctive flavor made by crushing whole cherries (including the pits) and steeping them in a sugar syrup with a bit of alcohol. After the mixture was strained, one was left with a sweet, thick, syrupy alcohol with a strong fruity flavor. This type of cordial is intense and very sweet, so it was (and still is) added to something else to make a mixed drink (kind of like grenadine) or sipped in small amounts as a post-dinner beverage.

Liqueur chocolates, like those made in France, became a popular treat and Americans gravitated towards their own special cordial. Cordial candies could be made with other fruits, but cherries were the most popular and continue to be. While they were originally made with liqueur, they are more commonly made with a sugar syrup flavored with cherries, similar to what maraschino cherries are preserved in. The cherries used in the candy are made by pitting and heating the fruit for a short amount of time in the liqueur and storing it in cans or jars. For the alcohol free version, the pitted cherries are cooked in a sugar syrup instead and then jarred.

Cherry cordials are made in one of three ways. The first is shell molding – pouring liquid chocolate into molds to a form a shell. The shell is filled with cordial or sugar syrup and a cherry. Before the shell hardens completely it is plugged up with a small seal of chocolate, which becomes the bottom.

The second method of making chocolate cherries is called enrobing, meaning the centers of the chocolates are run under a curtain of liquid chocolate to form a shell. In order to accomplish this, the syrup is placed in trays made of starch dotted with small impressions. After a while, the syrup will “crust,” or form a layer of sugar crystals, all around its surface. They can be carefully lifted out of the mold and enrobed in chocolate.

Finally, there is a method, which uses a solid filling enrobed in chocolate. An enzyme called invertase is added which acts on solid sugar centers and reverts them to liquid. Adding invertase can be done after the center has been covered in chocolate, simplifying the whole process. Here’s an example of how it’s done. (For the purposes of this example we’re going to use maraschino cherries and the syrup they’re packed in.)

Add invertase to the cherry syrup. Coat each cherry in several layers of powdered sugar and the enriched cherry syrup. Dip each cherry into a chocolate coating making sure it is thick enough that it will not crack and leak any filling. The invertase starts to break down the sugar immediately and continues even after it’s been enrobed in chocolate. It can take several weeks for the sugar to completely dissolve (up to a month).

 

There are plenty of confectioners that make cherry cordials, but the three most popular are Cella’s, Queen Anne’s, and Brach’s. Cella’s is the oldest brand. They began making cherries in 1864, but didn’t begin large-scale production until 1929. Queen Anne’s began making their chocolate cherries in 1948.

The Brock Candy Company began making cherry cordials in the 1930’s and the tiny treat helped keep the company afloat during the Depression. The cherries remained popular for the next 60 years when a majority stake in the company was bought by E.J. Brach Corporation in 1994. The name of the company was changed to Brach’s and the cherries became one of the largest selling lines of chocolate cherries.

There are other “knock-offs” of cherry cordials from companies like Hershey’s and Mars. Hershey’s produces Hershey’s Kisses Cherry Cordial, which is filled with thick cherry flavored goo. Mars has M&M’s Cherry Cordials, which are just flavored like a cherry cordial.

Let’s be honest, nothing can beat a real chocolate cherry cordial.

Cherry cordials are available in stores mainly during the holiday season and you’ll be hard pressed to find them after the holidays end. Luckily, Candy Favorites stocks them year round, so if you have that craving you know where to go! But you can worry about that later. It’s almost Valentine’s Day and we’ve got Brach’s Cherries all ready to be shipped to you to give to pretty much everyone you know. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day gift and we want to share it with you.

~ Created by our special guest blogger, Esther of Why’d You Eat That?


Bibliography:

Davidson, Alan, and Tom Jaine. “Cherry; Chocolate; Cordial.” The Oxford Companion to Food. 2. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 165; 180; 216. Print.

Day, Ivan. “Rosa Solis.” Historic Food  Welcome. Ivan Day, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.historicfood.com/rosolio.htm>.

Dobie, Mark. “Making History Monday: Chocolate Covered Cherries – Sugar Pressure.” Sugar Pressure. sugarpressure dot com, 28 Dec. 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sugarpressure.com/2009/12/making-history-monday-chocolate-covered-cherries.html>.

Kirk, Bryn. “Invertase | Chocolate University Online Blog.” Chocolate University Online has chocolate education for everyone!. Chocolate University Online, 19 Sept. 2010. Web. 6 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chocolateuniversityonline.com/blog/tag/invertase>.

“My Mother’s Chocolate Covered Cherries .” Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.squidoo.com/mothers-chocolate-covered-cherries-recipe>.

Larousse Gastronomique: The World’s Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2009. 231; 301. Print.

Tabler, Dave. “Appalachian History » Chocolate covered cherries for Valentine’s Day? Classic!.” Appalachian History » Stories, quotes and anecdotes.. Dave Tabler, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2010/02/chocolate-covered-cherries-for.html>.

“What is a Cherry Cordial?.” wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. Conjecture Corporation, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-cherry-cordial.htm>.

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23 Comments

  • Reply Cella Quinn November 28, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    What company started making Cella’s chocolate covered cherries. Do you know how they came to name them ‘Cella?” This is the only place I’ve ever seen the name ‘Cella’ other than my own.

    • Reply Steve November 26, 2016 at 6:59 pm

      CELLA is my wife’s grandmother’s maiden name. I traced her family back to confectioners in NY in 1860’s but haven’t made any absolute links. Any help?

      • Reply C December 28, 2017 at 9:53 am

        The cherries were created in the NYC area by a French family that came up north after the Civil War . They came from Louisiana.

  • Reply Cynthia Alden January 15, 2016 at 3:30 am

    I was hoping to find a company that makes the cherry cordials I enjoyed as a young girl. I remember visiting Canada just over the border and the cherry cordials were a thick chocolate with nuts encased in the chocolate that surrounded the cherries. I wish someone still made them.

    • Reply Danielle Chambers February 25, 2018 at 6:10 pm

      Hi Cynthia

      I’m from Canada and I love those chocolates! They are called Cherry Blossoms! You can still buy them here and they still taste great. I get them a a special treat once or twice a year. Maybe you can find them online…I hope I helped you.
      Cheers!

  • Reply Mechelle Niekrasz January 22, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    What happened to the pineapple flavored ones

  • Reply Leon Hoffacker December 31, 2016 at 6:24 pm

    When my father was in business for himself this was his Christmas gift to all his clients
    Still a favorite for my wife & I whenever we find it in a store.

  • Reply Chocolate Covered Cherries History | THE NIBBLE Blog - Adventures In The World Of Fine Food January 3, 2018 at 9:59 am

    […] Here’s a history of the popular bonbon, adapted from Candy Favorites. […]

  • Reply Maurice Rouillier January 30, 2019 at 10:13 am

    I would like to send chocolate covered cherries to my daughter in law which had her birthday on Jan 29th . How do I do this?

  • Reply Steve Karney November 20, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    Try a search for Angelo Cella. He was an Italian confectioner who arrived in NYC in 1858 at age 25. The 1880 census lists him and his 2 sons as confectioners. Family history includes his wife often helping keep up with orders.

  • Reply George Ogg November 30, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    We are big fans of your chocolate covered cherries but how ever we bought a large box from Walmart this week got home opened box they we all crushed the box from the outside was good tried to return them or exchange for another Walmart said oh well you did it call the company not us

  • Reply Janet Atwater December 8, 2019 at 9:59 pm

    I wanted to know if you can still buy the Branch’s Cherry Cordials ? That brand is the best. Queen Anne or any other’s I have had are just not the same.

  • Reply Nancy Clark December 19, 2019 at 2:35 am

    Looking to buy bourbon filled cherry cordials.Had some that looked like normal cordial with swirl on top each separately wrap in gold foil.love in Hillsboro Oregon

  • Reply john April 19, 2020 at 11:15 am

    nice

  • Reply Kathleen Bezzina April 24, 2020 at 12:08 am

    Hi l want to know if l can buy a small sampler box? Do you deliver to Australia?
    Cheers Kath Bezzina

  • Reply Madison Cella October 24, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    In italy their is a small neighborhood named Villa Cella. Agostino Cella, moved from italy to Ellis Island, New York in 1896. In new york he started selling cherries. He then started to preserve them by enclosing them in chocolat and he called them “Cella’s”. I should know this to be a fact because he was my ancestor and i too am a Cella. If for some reason you think it’s not true, you can tell my grandfather and father that.

  • Reply Francesco Cella January 4, 2021 at 11:12 pm

    Madison, I believe your story to be true as I am also a Cella. My family is from the Boston area. I wish I had a penny for every cherry sold! 😉

  • Reply Richard Bach January 6, 2022 at 1:38 pm

    In an interesting twist, just before Cella was purchased by Tootsie, it was owned briefly by the then dying Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co, an eastern Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal mining firm, railroad and canal empire. It was one of Americas earliest corporations and conglomerates dating from 1818. Their last ditch effort to survive was to build a candy empire which failed…thus Tootsie buying Cella from them.

  • Reply LeroyJaramillo December 7, 2022 at 5:51 pm

    I just purchased a box. And, yes I ate them, waiting to find a cherry inside..BUT NONE OF THEM HAD A CHERRY INSIDE.

  • Reply Steven December 20, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    I have always loved these and they have been a sweet family holiday tradition for us going back to the 1960’s. They are always fun!

    Steven, Brooklyn. NY

  • Reply Shirley Morgan February 11, 2024 at 5:08 am

    Did the original Queen Anne’s have 12 pieces of candy? 75 years young and still loving my chocolate covered cherries!

    • Reply Jonah Half February 12, 2024 at 4:10 pm

      We are not exactly sure how many were in the original box but we do know that they are truly a classic, especially during the holidays!

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