Chokecherries are gems in disguise

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/08/2015 (3727 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Decorative Prunus virginiana trees grace boulevards and perimeters of community centres and parks in Winnipeg, including Fort Garry.

The tree bears small berries that start to ripen in August. Once the berries are ripe and plump you can find a few people with pails or bowls picking the berries, but not very many because the berries do not make for good first impressions.

Not even birds peck at these berries. Although they look tasty and juicy, and their name, Prunus virginiana, sounds like an elegant ballroom, when you pop one in your mouth they are bitter, sour, and chalky enough to make you feel like you’re choking.

Hence their common name —chokecherries. In fact there are warnings not to eat chokecherries raw because they contain amygdalin, which, when digested, breaks down into a poisonous substance called cyanide.

Do not be deceived by first impressions, though. When the berries are processed and cooked, chokecherry jelly, syrup, or marinade is suitable for an elegant ballroom dinner.

Chokecherries are easy to pick. They remind me of my youth growing up on a farm, so, just like my mother, I equip my children with pails and off we go, not to the bush, but to the park or boulevard to pick chokecherries. One person jumps to catch the branch and hold it down while the others take the individual smaller branches and with one swipe you can pluck a branch of berries.

The pail fills quickly that way. Most of the berries come off the branch without a stem attachment, making cleaning very efficient.

Once home, into the pot they go to transform from the pungent choke into elegant wild Prunus virginiana jelly.

Here’s a recipe for the jelly:

Ingredients: Chokecherries, pectin, sugar

Steps:
1. Remove stems and leaves and wash berries.
2. Put in a pot and cover with water.
3. Bring to a boil. Boil until berries burst and colour and flavour seep into water.
4. Strain with a cheesecloth. Measure four cups.
5. Mix one box pectin with juice.
6. Boil for 1 minute. Add 5-½ cups sugar.
7. Boil for 1 more minute. Skim off foam.
8. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

If you want to make syrup, just add more juice so that the end result is syrupy rather than jelly like.
You can use the syrup or jelly for marinade. Enjoy these gems in disguise.

Helen Lepp Friesen is a community correspondent for Fort Garry. You can contact her at helenfriesen@hotmail.com