No, really. Not simply the "Yay, I get to pull bootleg nutrient out of the pantry in the wintertime" aspect, merely I love the whole process– from sterilizing the jars to that satisfying audio of lids sealing at the finish. It feels and so empowering to be able to preserve wholesome food for later. But that could be because I'm kind of a food nerd….
Anyway. I was recently able to forage a lovely bucket of chokecherries from a relative's backyard. And I just happened to be in the mood to put something in jars, and then I decided to make chokecherry jelly. A chokecherry is a small scarlet that often grows wild here in the West, but you tin can buy a chokecherry tree. (affiliate link) The berries make wonderful syrup or jelly. Because they do have small pits in the heart, y'all'll need to extract the juice. They are also fairly tart, so added sweetener is about always required.
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Chokecherries strike me as an erstwhile-fashioned nutrient, sort of like Lamb's Quarters. You'll hear members of the older generation talk about them, but many 'mod folk' aren't quite certain what they are.
This article has tons of useful information most identification, harvesting, and fifty-fifty the history of chokecherries. Traditional chokecherry jelly recipes call for loads of sugar… Like I mentioned in my Raw Strawberry Freezer Jam post, the insane amounts of sweetener kept me from making jams and jellies for quite a while. Still, using a special kind of pectin chosen Pomona'southward (affiliate link) volition enable you to make your favorite recipes using less sugar than normal, or even beloved. Y'all can utilise either option in the recipe beneath- and you lot might want to adjust the sweetener to taste (I establish that a full 2 cups of carbohydrate was a picayune too sugariness for me).
Chokecherry Jelly Recipe
(with low-sugar and beloved variations)
4 cups of chokecherry juice (I'll tell you how to excerpt the juice below)
one/4 cup of lemon juice
1 1/ii to 2 cups of sugar OR 1 1/2 cups love
4 teaspoons of Pomona's Pectin
4 teaspoons of calcium h2o (this volition come in your box of Pomona'southward pectin)
**How to Make Chokecherry Juice**
(If you have a juicer, then definitely use that. I don't, so I utilise the slightly more messy method…)
After cleaning and washing your berries (endeavour to remove as many of the little stems every bit possible, but don't sweat it if y'all don't become every unmarried one) place them in a large pot and fill with enough water to just cover the fruit. Simmer for 15-thirty minutes, or until the fruit softens. Then go after it with a potato masher to help brew the juice out. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined colander or jelly strainer. (A jelly strainer like this ane is on my to-buy list very presently!)
All ready to go
Save back the juice and discard the pulp/pits. (I tried to give my chickens the pulp, but they weren't interested…)
Now, on to the jelly making. Mix the chokecherry juice, lemon juice, and four teaspoons calcium water in a pot.
Honey/pectin mixture
Thoroughly mix the carbohydrate or honey in a divide basin with the four teaspoons of pectin. Gear up aside.
Bring the juice mixture to a eddy, then add in the pectin/sugar mixture and mix until completely incorporated.
Allow information technology to come up back to a boil, then remove it from the estrus and get ready to place it in your sterilized canning jars. Fill the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.
(New to canning? I have a detailed tutorial from starting time to cease- complete with pics!)
Eddy in a hot-water bath canner for ten minutes (add an extra 1 infinitesimal for every 1,000 feet you are above sea level).
Kitchen Notes
It took a while for my jars to cool down and start to jell. Several hours afterward they came out of the canner, they notwithstanding looked pretty runny. But by the following day, virtually of the jars had firmed up to jelly consistency. A couple jars took even longer. But, even if they don't jell up every bit much as you like, it still makes spectacular syrup!
I've seen several sources say that over-mashing the berries while y'all are trying to excerpt juice makes the resulting jelly cloudy. And it does– merely I do information technology anyway. Chokecherries don't give extremely high yields to begin with, and so I similar to brand sure I get every drop I can out of them. Cloudy chokecherry jelly doesn't bother me a scrap.
You can usually discover Pomona's Pectin at your local health food store. Or, Amazon ever carries it. I also recently had a reader tell me that you lot can buy it from Azure Standard in majority, then there is another option if you can't notice it locally.
Check out my Half-dozen Tips for No-Stress Canning if the whole canning process sometimes leaves you feeling crazy. 😉
If you don't accept chokecherries, this recipe can easily be adapted for other types of berries also. You lot will just need to adjust the sweetener accordingly.
No need to use your expensive raw honey in this recipe since it will be cooked and you'll loose all that benefical raw-ness anyway.
I recall chokecherry jelly has to be ane of my near favorite jellies of all time. I dearest the pleasant tartness and bright colour it adds to your pancakes, waffles, or buttermilk biscuits…
At present merely to make sure that my precious piddling jars last until next season!
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How to Make Chokecherry Jelly (low-sugar and honey variations)
Ingredients
iv cups chokecherry juice
one/4 cup of lemon juice
1 1/2– 2 cups saccharide OR 1 1/ii cups dear
4 t. Pomona's Pectin (like this)
iv t. calcium water (included in Pomona's pectin)
Instructions
Pace 1: *How to Make Chokecherry Juice* If you take a juicer, utilise information technology! I don't, so I use this method:
Make clean, wash, and remove stems from berries
Place in a big pot filled with plenty water to merely cover the fruit
Simmer 15-30 minutes until fruit softens
Use a potato masher to mash the juice out
Strain through a cheesecloth-lined colander or jelly strainer
Save the juice and discard pulp/pits
Step two: Mix chokecherry juice, lemon juice, and 4 teaspoons calcium h2o in a pot
Thoroughly mix sugar or dear in separate basin with 4 teaspoons pectin & prepare bated
Step 3: Bring juice mixture to a eddy
Add together pectin/sugar mixture, mix until completely incorporated, then return to a boil
Remove from oestrus, get ready to identify it in your sterilized canning jars
Step 4: Fill up the jars, leaving ane/4″ headspace
Boil in a hot-h2o bath canner ten minutes (add together an actress minute for every i,000 feet you lot are above ocean level)
If y'all're a rare, heirloom, heritage establish nerd like me, you'll wanna check out what's available this season over at NatureHills.com. (affiliate)
If you are a food preservation nerd similar me, yous might enjoy these other posts:
Peach Pie Filling for the Freezer
How to Freeze Eggs
Home Canned Absurdity
Raw Strawberry Freezer Jam- made with raw honey
Listen to the One-time Fashioned On Purpose podcast episode #2 on the topic How To Can Jam Without Using Tons Of Saccharide Hither.
Larn to Cook Like a Farmer!
Transform your kitchen into a farm style kitchen no matter where you lot live with my Heritage Cooking Handbook! Information technology'south included as a office of my FREE digital homestead library. Enter your best email for instant access! >>
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Mix the chokecherry juice, lemon juice, and four teaspoons calcium water in a pot.
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