Foraged Chokecherry Syrup
Chokecherry syrup and jelly have become a staple in my household the past three years, even so much so I gave away some as a wedding favor. In late summer this tart, little, stone fruit turn black and become bursting with juice. So, named for their astringent qualities they taste better once cooked. Around here they can be found growing in mountain draws where runoff pools, as well as beside creeks and streams. Some people also cultivate them as a wind/ snow fence but as of, yet I don’t have the infrastructure to do that at the farmstead. Once we get that part of our garden build up and bees added I fully intend on breaking out my mead making equipment and trying my hand and some interesting combinations.
This is a more western settler recipe using wild Native ingredients, this year I plan on experimenting with Wojapi and its process. As well as more work into the historical and medicinal uses of chokecherries. One of the downsides of reworking old content is that I have more of it than I do new research. So, I post it ahead of current workings, it’s going to be another learning curve as I know a large complaint about the food blogging realm was the long-drawn outposts before the recipes. I’ll find a balance in that soon I hope, with shorter posts like this that will get updated with links to the long historical posts.
Chokecherry Syrup makes 2 quarts
Ingredients
- 1 gal ripe chokecherries
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- Water for rinsing
- 1 qt turbinado sugar
- 2T lemon juice
- 1t ground nutmeg
Method
Berry Prep
Fill your sink with enough water to cover the berries and add the vinegar. Pour in berries and swish around, rinsing off debris, bugs, and any potential bird poop. This helps sanitize your berries so you’re not introducing any harmful pathogens. Don’t leave your berries in there too long or they’ll pop, and you’ll lose much wanted juice.
Jelly
A good rule of thumb with chokecherries is that it’s about a 4:1 ratio berry to juice after processing. So, your 1 gal of berries will give you 1 qt of juice. If you came out a little light, there’s no shame in adding some water to even it out or using less sugar. In a saucepan bring your cherry juice and lemon juice to a rolling boil, boil for 15 seconds. This helps pasteurize it, food safety. Reduce to a simmer and add the sugar. Bring back to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in your nutmeg.
And you’re done! At this point you can move straight to canning or cool and use on pancakes.
