Chokecherry Syrup
It’s my favorite season – time to can the harvest from the garden as well as the wild.
Here in southwest Colroado, chokecherries abound. Most people just let them fall from the trees and rot, but they can be made into some nice products.I find the taste to be a little sharp even after they are sweetened, but add a little almond extract and they are wonderful.
Last year I had what appeared to be a “failed” batch of chokecherry jelly. When I opened the jar it was a perfect syrup. This year, I made a large batch, and intend to make even more, to give as Christmas gifts. For the time being I have it preserved in quart-sized mason jars, but later I will re-package it into beautiful bottles from Sunburst Bottle Company.
Chokecherry Syrup
7 cups of chokecherry juice
6 c sugar
1 and 1/2 t almond extract
First, pick and clean your cherries. Put the cleaned fruit into a large sauce pan or stock pot, depending on how much you have. For every pound of fruit, add one cup of water. crush the fruit and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about a half an hour. Drain the fruit through a sieve or cheese cloth.
Measure 7 cups of juice into a pan, and add 6 cups of sugar. Bring this mixture to a boil, and continue boiling for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from heat and add almond extract. Quickly pour the hot syrup into hot, sterile canning jars and assemble lids and rings. Use a hot water canning bath to process the jars for 15 minutes.
You can make large batches without any problem. I had 1 and 1/2 gallons of juice. I added 20 and 1/3 cups of sugar to this mixture. After the mixture reduced, I had one gallon of syrup.
