No, really. Not just the "Yay, I go to pull homemade food out of the pantry in the winter" attribute, but I love the whole procedure– from sterilizing the jars to that satisfying sound of lids sealing at the cease. It feels then 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'due south backyard. And I just happened to be in the mood to put something in jars, then I decided to make chokecherry jelly. A chokecherry is a small cherry that often grows wild here in the West, only yous tin can purchase a chokecherry tree. (affiliate link) The berries make wonderful syrup or jelly. Because they do have pocket-size pits in the middle, you'll demand to extract the juice. They are likewise fairly tart, so added sweetener is almost always required.
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Chokecherries strike me as an quondam-fashioned food, sort of like Lamb's Quarters. You'll hear members of the older generation talk almost them, but many 'modernistic folk' aren't quite certain what they are.
This commodity has tons of useful data about identification, harvesting, and even the history of chokecherries. Traditional chokecherry jelly recipes call for loads of sugar… Similar I mentioned in my Raw Strawberry Freezer Jam postal service, the insane amounts of sweetener kept me from making jams and jellies for quite a while. However, using a special kind of pectin called Pomona's (affiliate link) volition enable yous to make your favorite recipes using less sugar than normal, or fifty-fifty honey. You can employ either pick in the recipe below- and y'all might want to conform the sweetener to taste (I plant that a full ii cups of sugar was a little also sweetness for me).
Chokecherry Jelly Recipe
(with depression-sugar and dearest variations)
four cups of chokecherry juice (I'll tell you lot how to extract the juice below)
one/4 cup of lemon juice
i 1/2 to two cups of sugar OR 1 i/2 cups dear
four teaspoons of Pomona'due south Pectin
4 teaspoons of calcium h2o (this will come in your box of Pomona'southward pectin)
**How to Brand Chokecherry Juice**
(If you have a juicer, and so definitely use that. I don't, so I use the slightly more messy method…)
After cleaning and washing your berries (try to remove as many of the lilliputian stems as possible, just don't sweat it if you don't get every single one) identify them in a big pot and fill with enough water to but cover the fruit. Simmer for 15-thirty minutes, or until the fruit softens. And so become later it with a tater masher to help mash the juice out. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined colander or jelly strainer. (A jelly strainer like this one is on my to-purchase list very soon!)
All ready to become
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 iv teaspoons calcium h2o in a pot.
Honey/pectin mixture
Thoroughly mix the sugar or honey in a separate bowl with the 4 teaspoons of pectin. Set aside.
Bring the juice mixture to a boil, then add in the pectin/sugar mixture and mix until completely incorporated.
Permit it to come dorsum to a boil, then remove information technology from the heat and go ready to identify information technology in your sterilized canning jars. Fill the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.
(New to canning? I have a detailed tutorial from get-go to finish- complete with pics!)
Eddy in a hot-water bathroom canner for 10 minutes (add together an extra 1 minute for every 1,000 feet you are above bounding main level).
Kitchen Notes
It took a while for my jars to cool down and start to clot. Several hours after they came out of the canner, they still looked pretty runny. But by the following twenty-four hours, most of the jars had firmed up to jelly consistency. A couple jars took even longer. Only, even if they don't jell upwards as much as you similar, it still makes spectacular syrup!
I've seen several sources say that over-mashing the berries while you are trying to extract juice makes the resulting jelly cloudy. And it does– merely I practise information technology anyway. Chokecherries don't give extremely loftier yields to begin with, and then I like to make sure I become every drop I can out of them. Cloudy chokecherry jelly doesn't bother me a chip.
You can usually find Pomona'due south Pectin at your local health food store. Or, Amazon ever carries it. I also recently had a reader tell me that you can buy information technology from Azure Standard in bulk, so there is another option if you can't find it locally.
Cheque out my Six Tips for No-Stress Canning if the whole canning process sometimes leaves you feeling crazy. 😉
If you don't accept chokecherries, this recipe tin can easily be adapted for other types of berries as well. You will merely need to conform the sweetener accordingly.
No need to employ your expensive raw honey in this recipe since it will be cooked and you lot'll loose all that benefical raw-ness anyhow.
I recall chokecherry jelly has to be ane of my virtually favorite jellies of all time. I beloved the pleasant tartness and bright color information technology adds to your pancakes, waffles, or buttermilk biscuits…
Now just to make sure that my precious trivial jars last until next flavor!
Print
How to Make Chokecherry Jelly (low-sugar and honey variations)
Ingredients
iv cups chokecherry juice
1/iv cup of lemon juice
1 ane/2– ii cups sugar OR 1 1/2 cups honey
4 t. Pomona's Pectin (like this)
iv t. calcium water (included in Pomona'southward pectin)
Instructions
Stride ane: *How to Make Chokecherry Juice* If y'all have a juicer, use it! I don't, and so I use this method:
Clean, launder, and remove stems from berries
Identify in a large pot filled with enough water to just 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 ii: Mix chokecherry juice, lemon juice, and 4 teaspoons calcium water in a pot
Thoroughly mix sugar or honey in split up bowl with four teaspoons pectin & gear up aside
Step three: Bring juice mixture to a boil
Add 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
Footstep 4: Make full the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace
Eddy in a hot-water bath canner x minutes (add an extra minute for every 1,000 feet you are to a higher place sea level)
If you lot're a rare, heirloom, heritage plant nerd similar me, you'll wanna check out what's available this season over at NatureHills.com. (chapter)
If you are a food preservation nerd like me, you might enjoy these other posts:
Peach Pie Filling for the Freezer
How to Freeze Eggs
Home Canned Applesauce
Raw Strawberry Freezer Jam- made with raw love
Listen to the Erstwhile Fashioned On Purpose podcast episode #two on the topic How To Tin can Jam Without Using Tons Of Sugar Here.
Larn to Cook Similar a Farmer!
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Mix the chokecherry juice, lemon juice, and iv teaspoons calcium h2o in a pot.
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