Cultivar 'Amarena' | Breeder Gennaro Fabbri, | |
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Similar Amaretto, Stracciatella, Kirsch, Maraschino cherry, Cherries jubilee | ||
The tale of the amarena cherry
The Amarena cherry is a small bitter (amara, in Italian) dark colored Italian cherry grown in Bologna and Modena, two cities of Italy. It is usually bottled in syrup and used as a decoration on rich chocolate desserts.
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The Amarena is a variety of the Prunus cerasus developed by Gennaro Fabbri who was born in 1869 in Bologna, Italy. His wife Rachele took over an old general store in Portomaggiore, which near to a wild black cherry orchard. She picked the cherries and then slowly cooked them and semi-candied them into copper pots. To thank his wife for the treat, he bought a ceramic jar from Riccardo Gatti, an artist from Faenza. The white and blue ceramic jar was then used to sell the syrup and started a small company.
He started commercial production of cherry related products in 1905 under the Fabbri brand. The Fabbri company is still family owned, and produces a number of natural cherry pastries, syrups, and beverages.
Adriano zumbo pistachio and amarena cherry cannoli
