How to make wild chokecherry jelly

How to make wild chokecherry jelly: "How to make wild chokecherry jelly
Living by the Clark Fork River in Montana has it's rewards from fishing to wild berries and wild life viewing.
But today I will concentrate on making wild chokecherry jelly.
A wild chokeherry often called the black cherry is about the size of a pea when ripe.It starts out as a cluster of 20 to 30 berries on a stem,and is white in color.As it matures the cherry turns red and when ripe in later part of August,it is a purple or black color.
They grow on a bush that grows to ten feet tall and up to ten feet in diameter.They yield up to three gallons of chokecherrys.
The way I pick them is cut the stem off and bring the whole cluster home this way.
When you eat a chokecherry you will find that it has a seed almost as big as the fruit part,so you would have to eat a bunch of them to gain anything nutritious.Also if you eat one that isn't ripe it will leave a dry bitter taste in your mouth that will make you thirsty
.This is why they are called chokecherries.
Range of Chokecherry
I have found chokecherry bushs in the high mountains of Idaho,Oregon and Montana.
It grows wild in many other states and canada.
Mostly found along streams and river banks.
The Indians picked them as part of their staples for the winter months,so it has been around for eons.
While picking berries one needs to keep an eye open for bear,since they like fruit also."

How to make wild chokecherry jelly

How to make wild chokecherry jelly: "How to make chokecherry jelly
Chokecherry Jelly recipe
Clean berries off stems and place in large pot.
Add 1/4 cup of water to 1 pound of fruit.
Cook the fruit for 10 to 20 minutes or until soft.
Now pour the mixture into a suspended jelly bag and let the juice drip.
Do not squeeze the bag or you will get cloudy jelly.
You can refrigerate or freeze the juice and use anytime.
You can use the short boil method when using fruit pectin.
Bring the fruit juice to a boil,add lemon juice if called for and pectin.
Bring to boil again.
Never add sugar before you add the pectin or the fruit will not jell.
Add the requird amount of sugar and bring back to a boil that cannot be stirre down.
Boil one minute more.
Remove from heat and skim foam off top.
Pour into hot jars and seal.

3 1/4 cups chokecherry juice
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 oz package fruit pectin
Mix chokecherry juice and pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Add sugar.
Boil one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Skim off foam.
Pour into sterilized jars.
Leave 1/2 inch headspace.
Clean jar rim.
Seal.
Process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Now that was easy.
Yield: 7 -1/2 pint jars
Great on pancakes,waffles or ice cream.."

How to make Crab Apple Jelly-jelly butter

Crabapple Jelly
As I live in the North West United States,I noticed there is an abundance of Wild Crabapple Trees or Bushs as some call them.

As the economy is in bad shape,there is a lot of canning going on in the rural areas where people can grow crops.So I decided to try my luck at canning Wild Crabapples.

I have dozens of trees surrounding me full of these little apples,and they are now ripe,so I decided to pick a bunch and make jelly,or jelly butter.

When you pick Crabapples,you have to be carefull not to get stuck with the

1 inch spines the limbs prodce to protect the apples.

The apples grow in clusters of 2 to 10 and are on a stem,so all you need to do is grab the stem and pull the apples off.

The apples are the size of a small marble,so it takes 4 pounds to make a batch of jelly,which is 7 pints.

The ripe apple is purple with three seeds inside.

You will place the apples in a kettle with enough water to boil them.

After they come to a boil, you put them through a strainer and then you smash

the apples and strain them again.

Now you place the juice back on the burner and stir in 1 package of Pectin,

Bring to boil,then add 7 cups of sugar stirring until the juice boils.

Boil for 2 minutes.

Take off burner and ladle juice in clean pint fruit jars.

Skim foam off top of jelly

Clean rims of jars and place seals on.

Screw rings down tight to keep water out.

Place jars in water bath.

Make sure jars are submerged under 1 inch of water.

Bring water to boil and boil for 5 minutes.

Remove jars and place on towel.

You should see a depression in the middle of seal,when jar seals properly.

If the jar does'nt seal ,redo or use the jelly first.

Let jars set for 24 hours,then place in a dark cool area for storage.

For large apples I recommend buying an Apple Peeler,which is much faster then a knife.

Makes 7 Pints...