A bitter sweet fall treat

The end of Summer/beginning of Fall is a great time to get fresh fruits and vegetables, either from Farmer Markets or picking them yourself. It is always wonderful to have canned your own and filled the pantry for winter.

I am fortunate enough to have a few chokecherry trees in the back yard. This year I decided to pick them before the birds could eat them all. Chokeherries have a bitter sweet flavor. I don’t recommend eating them by the handful, your mouth will pucker. Chokecherries can, however, be transformed into a tasty treat.

Today, I am going to share a recipe for Chokecherry Jelly that has been modified to reduce the amount of added sugar. The original recipe called for 5 cups of sugar! Can you imagine how much sugar is in store bought varieties of jelly?

Diabetics still want to be careful when consuming any jellies including this one. The recipe does use pectin, which can still increase blood sugar levels. You can find out more information regarding the effects of pectin at PubMed (the US Nations Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health article at the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6761963).

The recipe is simple but the preparation of the Chokecherries and canning equipment takes time. Try this one when you have a couple of free hours.

Choke Cherry Jelly

Ingredients:

4 C Chokecherry Juice

2 TBS Lemon Juice

1 Box Fruit Pectin (1 oz)

1 2/3 C Sugar Substitute (Sucralose)

Directions:

1. Sterilize the jars and lids. You can run them through the dishwasher and then simmer the lids in a saucepan to keep the seals flexible.

2. Wash and clean the cherries. Don’t worry about the stems, you’ll never get them all.

3. Once the chokecherries are clean, place them in a large pot and fill with just enough water to cover the cherries.

4. Simmer over medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until the chokecherries look soft and have released their juices.

5. Drain the juice into a separate container and save for later.

6. Strain the choke cherries through cheese cloth to extract remaining liquids. You can mash the chokecherries but do not grind them up. The seeds contain cyanide.

7. Add 4 cups chokecherry juice, lemon juice and pectin to a large sauce pan. Sprinkle the pectin into the pan slowly so that it does not clump.

8. Bring to a full rolling boil and add the sugar substitute. Again, adding slowly or it will congeal into clumps that resemble marshmallows.

9. Return to a full boil stirring constantly for 1 minute.

10. Remove from heat and skim foam.

11. Fill jars 1/4” from top, wipe any spillage off the rims. Place the lids and screw bands on just until you feel resistance.

12. Boil jars for 10 minutes. Let the jars cool on a cutting board for 12-24 hours. As they cool, you should hear the lids snap and seal. Refrigerate any unsealed jars.

If you want to try adding a little different flavor to your jelly, add about 1/4 tsp cayenne to give it a little spice or 1/2 tsp of basil.

Get creative and try adding your own touch. I would not, however, recommend adding jalapeño, as good as it may sound, this was one of my flops.

 

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