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CHOKECHERRIES
By Jo Noble
Treasures. My mother called them
treasures. And very early on a hot late-August morning, she would awaken my
sisters and me and get us ready for our yearly ritual. We would travel to
the special places mom knew to pick chokecherries. Timing was everything.
The berries had to be black, plump, ready to burst. We also had to get there
before they were picked by other berry hunters. And off us little kids would
go with a three gallon coffee can, string attached, around each of our
necks.
I grew
up with the puckery–sweet taste in my mouth. And in the winter months we
would eat the jelly and syrup and remember our red fingers as we stripped
the berries off the branches with more than a few finding their way to our
mouths instead of the can.
Imagine
my surprise when I saw the many chokecherry bushes up here in Pine Brook
Hills filled with the black fruit and no one picking them! I was even more
astounded when a neighbor asked what they were and was glad the birds liked
them.
Chokecherry juice has ancient roots. The Lakota Native Americans have used
and still use the juice in rituals. They also used the fruit in the making
of pemmican, which was a dried meat/fruit combination they used during the
winter.
I have
a bush in my yard, but it’s old and produces very little fruit. There are
many more up here in Pine Brook. Today, as I was walking the Mesa Trail I
also noticed the bushes that lined the trail and are now sporting hard,
green fruit.
I don’t
guess many people make jelly anymore. I’ve been to garage sales where
canning supplies were available for cheap and find no one wanted them. Our
diets have changed and our time seems to be evaporating. But just for old
times sake, I’ll include a recipe for chokecherry jelly, and maybe, just
maybe, someone will try it.
Chokecherry
Jelly
8 to 9 pounds
chokecherries
water just barely to cover
Wash fruit and remove
stems. Just cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain juice.
3 cups chokecherry
juice
6 1/2 cups sugar
2 foil pouches liquid
fruit pectin (Certo or Ball brand) 6 oz total.
1/4 tsp. almond
extract (optional)
Pour juice into large
kettle. Add sugar and stir to mix. Place over high heat and bring to a
boil, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin, bring to a
full rolling boil and boil
hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir and skim for
5 minutes. Add extract. Seal in hot jars.
Makes about 9 half pints.
Note: Almond extract gives a stronger cherry taste.
From
The Pine Brook Press, Summer, 01 |
