Daughter and niece wanted to make chokecherry jelly and syrup so we went out for an evening to pick a few. Another month and it will be time to pick sandplums and and buffalo berries a few weeks after that. Any of you guys berry pickers?
Chokecherry time
- Thread starter brockel
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dirtclod Az.
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I tend to pick Poison Oak.If in season Poison Ivy.
MT_Fin
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Nothing better than chokecherry jelly! I need to go check my trees, they are probably getting close. I’ll take chokecherry over huckleberry any day!
Sand plums were a total bust in Kansas this year. My dad would kill for some good chokecherry action back in the day.
I remember asking how chokecherry got their name. "Go ahead and taste one" said my dad. Lesson learned! I felt like it would take forever for the feeling of dry mouth to pass that day.
And we remember with fondness my teetotaling dad visiting and nearly single handily destroying a jar of chokecherry syrup on the waffles. I was making the waffles for the family that morning so I was waiting till all had been served to dress my waffle with the syrup. Something was up with the syrup.......probably about 20 proof......we didn't let him drive for a couple of hours after that breakfast.
I remember asking how chokecherry got their name. "Go ahead and taste one" said my dad. Lesson learned! I felt like it would take forever for the feeling of dry mouth to pass that day.
And we remember with fondness my teetotaling dad visiting and nearly single handily destroying a jar of chokecherry syrup on the waffles. I was making the waffles for the family that morning so I was waiting till all had been served to dress my waffle with the syrup. Something was up with the syrup.......probably about 20 proof......we didn't let him drive for a couple of hours after that breakfast.
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teamhoyt
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Love chokecherry syrup!
LuketheDog
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So our new place has a TON of chokecherries but we know nothing about them. When are we supposed to pick them? When do they taste the best?
rtraverdavis
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Blackberry season here in Oregon. Sort of hard to keep enough to make jam though.
Gut Shot
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Different varieties and different locations mean different times to pick. When they are dark, like the one's in the OP's picture with the bucket, go pull on them. If they fall off in your hand easily they are ready. You can't eat them off the tree, they have to be made into jelly or wine or something with a lot of sugar.
There’s actuakky a kind called yellow bird chokecherrkes and they stay yellow even when ripe. You can see a few in the top of the bucket
Just be sure what you are eating is chokecherry and not buckthorn. I made that mistake as a kid and the resulting explosive diarrhea was enough to leave me scarred (and scared) for life. Love snacking on wild plums, though.
scubohuntr
Active member
Chokecherries are great right off the tree. They have a little more complex flavor than plums or cherries, some astringent in addition to the sweet, but definitely tasty for those who can appreciate them. Highbush cranberries (Viburnum trilobum), now, THOSE take some determination to eat right off the tree. Particularly if you're foolish enough to try them before a good hard frost.
Colorado kid
Member
My wife makes the BEST choke cherry jam!! We ran out back in February/March! Cannot wait to get my hands on more!
Zach
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I've got them all over my place, first time we've had them.
Need to find recipes for everything.
Need to find recipes for everything.
onelionhunter
New member
Picked the 5 trees we have in the yard last week, wife flew in from AK yesterday, so we shall see what she does this year, still have 5 or 6 pints of syrup from last year. I suspect it will involve fermentation, being a chemist and all....
300stw
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what will you do with them,,,
my wife tries to make chokecherry jam every year, we either make good syrup or really tuff jam,,,, lot of hail in our country 2 weeks ago, choke cherries pretty slim around here
my wife tries to make chokecherry jam every year, we either make good syrup or really tuff jam,,,, lot of hail in our country 2 weeks ago, choke cherries pretty slim around here
Ripe on bottom. Going to need extra sugar on the top
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Pondera
Active member
No chokecherries in my yard but I did transplant some raspberries from Washington. We have about a 12' long bush and the kids are picking between 2-3 quarts a day for the last two weeks! They just keep coming! We eat all we can and then put the left overs in the freezer for jam later. Container garden tomatoes are starting to go crazy also.
