I have a half-used jar of (I guess) maraschino cherries in a really, really heavy syrup. I’ve had it for a pretty long time, couple of years at least, and there’s a white crust on top of some of them. I don’t know if it’s mold or crystallization of the sugar in the syrup. It appears to be just on top of the cherries that are above the syrup. Opinions?
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Crystallized sugar will be hard – did you pull one out and check?
Good point- not yet, I’ll check it in a bit. Thanks.
Try one 
ETA: Have you smelled any of them? Do they smell off?
No, they smell fine, warmed them up a bit and the stuff dissolved. Meanwhile, my husband looked up the product online and the manufacturer said it would crystallize if refrigerated, which it has been for years. 
All’s well, now mr mr can have his old fashioneds or cosmopolitans without worry.
Yay!
