March 29, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
76 7 
Cheese should not be eaten when in a mouldy condition, or 
when containing “jumpers.” It ought not to become blue 
when touched with dilute tincture of iodine, and it should 
leave but little ash when burnt on platinum. 
CHERRY JUICE.* 
BY A. W. MILLER, M.D. 
Large quantities of cherry juice are now imported from 
G-ermany into the United States, no less than 1500 casks, 
each containing from 150 to 200 gallons, being entered at 
the New York Custom-house within the year. This juice 
is chiefly manufactured in the vicinity of Magdeburg, by 
expressing the common black cherries cultivated there for 
the express purpose. In the United States it is princi¬ 
pally used by the compounders of liquors ; but the author 
believes that it could also be employed with advantage for 
pharmaceutical purposes. 
Cherry juice is a richly-coloured, dark-red liquid, some¬ 
what glutinous, but perfectly bright and clear. Its taste 
is rather pleasant, fruity, slightly acidulous, and somewhat 
alcoholic. Without the addition of sugar it is rather too 
sour to be agreeable as a beverage. The specific gravity 
of a specimen examined was 1*041, but this may vary ma¬ 
terially. 
The importers state that its alcoholic strength ranges 
from 10 to 15 per cent. In one gallon of it subjected to 
fractional distillation, the proportion of alcohol was about 
124 per cent., or one-eighth of the entire bulk. The above 
amount of alcohol seems to be sufficient to preserve the 
juice under ordinary circumstances, although it will occa¬ 
sionally ferment during the hot weather of summer, parti¬ 
cularly when left in half-filled barrels. 
As the importer’s price for German cherry juice is usu¬ 
ally rather less than one dollar (gold) per gallon, this low 
figure is one of its main recommendations. The small 
proportion of alcohol contained in the cherry juice connot 
be held to detract from its merits, as it can readily be 
expelled by heat. The fact of the juice being perfectly 
clear and transparent, so that it will mix in all proportions 
with syrupy and alcoholic liquids without producing the 
slightest turbidity, is another important point in its favour. 
Besides this, the juice is always ready for immediate use, 
requiring neither filtering, straining, nor any other trou¬ 
blesome and tedious preparation, and it is not near so 
liable to spoil as solutions of cochineal. Indeed, it will be 
very difficult to find any other article, by means of which 
an equally beautiful tint can be given to elixirs, Cura§oa 
cordial, or other elegant pharmaceutical preparations, in 
so convenient a manner. 
Cherry juice seems also to be specially suited for the 
compound syrup of phosphates, with the colouring of 
which most manufacturers have heretofore had trouble. 
Used in the proportion of one ounce of juice in a pint of 
the syrup, it produces a brilliant claret-red colour, which 
is not affected by either muriatic or phosphoric acids, and 
which is neither precipitated nor bleached by exposure to 
the light. The fruity flavour imparted to the syrup, of 
course, is rather an advantage than otherwise. 
Soda-water syrups, prepared from strawberry and rasp¬ 
berry juice, particularly when it is a year old, have often 
less colour than is desirable. While most druggists are 
reluctant to add anilin or any other artificial colouring 
matter, there can be no possible objection raised to the 
crimson-tinted cherry juice, about four ounces of which 
will be found to be sufficient to bring one gallon of straw¬ 
berry syrup up to the proper shade. Professor Parrish, in 
his ‘Practical Pharmacy,’ even highly recommends the 
admixture of black cherries with raspberries in the prepa¬ 
ration of the syrup ; and the same suggestion occurs in 
several French works. For enriching the colour of rasp¬ 
* Abstract fronffhe American Journal of Pharmacy [4], 
vol. iii. p. 99. 
berry syrup, eight ounces of cherry juice can be used 
advantageously to a gallon. 
The following formuke illustrate some additional appli¬ 
cations of cherry juice. All of them have been thoroughly 
tested, and most of them have been in use for some time, 
having met with general approbation among the con¬ 
sumers :— 
Cherry Soda Water Syrup. 
German Cherry Juice . . ; . 1 quart. 
Water. 1 quart. 
Best Crushed Sugar.74 lbs. 
Citric Acid. hoz. 
Boil in a porcelain capsule and strain. This yields a 
finely flavoured and richly tinted syrup, which is much 
admired by the frequenters of the fountain. 
Cherry Wine. 
German Cherry Juice .... 3 quarts. 
Grape Sugar Syrup.1 pint. 
Simple Syrup.1 pint. 
This furnishes a cheap, palatable, and gently stimulat¬ 
ing beverage. Its taste resembles the best of the popular 
domestic fruit wines. 
Cherry Jelly. 
Gelatine . .. 14 di'achm. 
Wash with cold water, and add 
White Sugar.1 ounce. 
German Cherry Juice ... 2 „ 
Boiling Water.5 ounces. 
Stir until all the gelatine and sugar have been dissolved, 
and then set aside in a cool place to gelatinize. As a 
pleasant variation in the diet of invalids, this can be 
highly recommended. It is also occasionally quite accept¬ 
able as a dessert for the table. 
Translated into the language of the kitchen, the above 
may be directed to be made by putting two heaped spoon¬ 
fuls of gelatine into a coffee cup, washing it with cold- 
water, adding a heaped tablespoonful of sugar and one 
tablespoonful of cherry juice, then nearly filling the cup 
with boiling water, and stirring until all is dissolved. 
Imitation of the Syrup of Red Oranr/cs of Malta. 
(Sirop d’Oranges rouges de Malte.) 
Simple Syrup.1 gallon. 
Cherry Juice.6 oz. 
Essence of Cura 9 oa orange (con¬ 
taining 2 oz. of oil in a pint) . 4 oz - 
Citric Acid.1 oz. 
The quality of this syrup depends almost entirely oil 
the purity and freshness of the essence of Curagoa, which 
is difficult to obtain of good flavour. The syrup itself 
should be made in small amounts, as it is liable to be 
changed to an unpleasant rancid flavour on long exposure 
Imitation Strawberry Syrup. 
Simple Syrup.1 gallon. 
Cherry Juice.4 oz. 
Tincture of Orris Root ... 1 oz. 
Citric Acid.6 drachms. 
Strawberry Flavour .... 3 „ 
Imitation Raspberry Syrup. 
Simple Syrup.1 gallon. 
Cherry Juice.8 oz. 
Tincture of Orris Root ... 2 oz. 
Citric Acid.6 drachms. 
Raspberry Flavour .... 3 „ 
The compounders of liquors use cherry juice chiefly, if' 
not exclusively, for manufacturing cherry brandy (known 
also as cherry bounce or guignolet), blackberry brandy, 
and an imitation of port wine. For the benefit of those 
who may be desirous of knowing the composition of these 
fancy liquors, which have a large sale in the South, the 
following receipts are appended, which have been obtained* 
from trustworthy sources :— 
