or is life too short to rinse glace cherries?!

[pigeononthegate]

Mary Berry's classic Christmas cake recipe - looks fabulous, I was planning to make an "old-fashioned" Christma cake for MIL this year with royal icing and a proper sugarcraft poinsettia/holly/ivy, twee as fuck and MIL will love it

this recipe says I have to "wash and thoroughly dry each glace cherry"

I don't really have to do this, do I? A bit of syrup won't bugger up the cake?

Ooooh, I'd have said yanbu, but Mary Berry...you can't disobey Mary Berry! Also, in the grand scheme of things, it won't take as long as the sugarceaft poinsettia will it?

God, I’m no baking expert but who has time for that? Sorry, not super helpful-hoping someone who knows what they’re talking about helps you out

No, but I'm good at sugarcraft and actually enjoy doing it, whereas rinsing and lovingly drying glace cherries is a massive ballache

If you rinse them (and drip dry) they don't end up all in a clump with bits of uncooked flour - really, rinse the ick off and they distribute better through the cake

I put the cherries in a sieve and rinse well with hot water then shake well and just leave for bit. If I don't the cherries sink to the bottom of the cake.

Can't you rinse them and leave them to air dry? Or would that make them spontaneously combust or something? It does seem terribly prescriptive. Could you swap them for something else? Cranberries or something?

If you don't they will sink and all sit at the bottom of the cake (I couldn't be bothered to rinse them either )

I make that every year and I've never washed or rinsed a glace cherry.
Mine don't stick together either.

How long does it take to stick a few cherries under the tap? But if you don't want them to sink, a layer of marzipan in the middle of the cake will help.

you do or they sink HTH

The thing is if you are taking the time to make it - take the time - smell the roses

Never rinsed them and they've never sunk here!

I just rinse them in a sieve and then leave to drip dry

How about rinsing them and then putting them in a salad spinner? Just be gentle. After that just gently pat with kitchen roll and they should be dry enough

No, no, no. Lick them. Ohhhh yeahhhhhh.

People rinse glacé cherries?!?!
Is this actually a thing??

As I hate glacé cherries no one has any in their cakes I make for them at Christmas, I just increase the other mixed fruit by a few ounces/grams

Never rinsed a glace cherry and they've never sunk. Perhaps other people's cake recipes produce a runnier mixture? I can't imagine anything much would sink through mine.

They don't clump together either. I put some of the flour from the recipe aside and shake the cherries in it before adding it all back into the mix.

God no I've never washed them. Mine have never sunk or been covered in uncooked flour either. I chop them and shove them in.

I always rinse mine. It stops them from sinking in the cake mixture. I leave them to air dry on a bit of kitchen paper. certainly wouldnt dry them individually.

I always rinse mine. It stops them from sinking in the cake mixture. I leave them to air dry on a bit of kitchen paper. certainly wouldnt dry them individually

I haven't made Christmas cake in years, but when I have, I've always just chopped them roughly and thrown them in, they've never sunk

I never rinse mine, and they don't sink in the mixture either.

No i don't rinse them either. Maybe just give each one a quick suck?

I’ve never rinsed a glacé cherry and have really good reviews for my Christmas cake, so I wouldn’t bother. (Disclaimer, I use Delias recipe, so maybe it’s different?)

Sieve.. tap.. shake.. dump on towel.. ignore or rough up.

Fuck individually hand washing n drying them.