In 1920’s, Oregon State University (OSU) professor of horticulture Ernest H. Wiegand developed the modern method of manufacturing maraschino cherries using a brine solution rather than alcohol.

The maraschino cherry was originally created from marasca, a small black cherry that grew wild on the coast of present-day Croatia. To preserve them, the cherries were pickled the in seawater, then marinated them in a liqueur made from the marasca’s juice and pits.

Wiegand perfected a new maraschino cherry made from Oregon’s Royal Anne cherries. The secret was in the brine. The Croatians had used seawater; Weigand added a dash of calcium salts to firm the cherries and a dash of almond extract to simulate the taste of marasca pits. The nation’s two biggest maraschino manufacturers are located in Oregon. The food sciences building on OSU’s Corvallis, Oregon campus, Wiegand Hall, was named in his honour.