In a large pot boil water and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes – pour this over the pitted sweet cherries.
Cover and set aside 12 hours or overnight.
Drain cherries, discard the brine and rinse well in cold water.
Set aside.
In a medium-sized pot, mix the sugar, the lemon juice and the red food coloring together and just-just bring to a boil, stirring well to dissolve sugar.
Remember remove from heat as soon as the sugar is dissolved.
Pour over the cherries, cover, and let stand for 24 hours.
Drain cherries but reserve the juice.
Set cherries aside.
Bring the reserved juice to a boil again, remove from heat and stir in the almond extract that you pour over the cherries.
Pack the cherries and the juice in hot sterilized jars and seal well.