REALLY GOOD CHOKECHERRY JELLY 
Pick berries, wash well and drain, grind through old-fashioned food chopper and put in large container. Pour boiling water to cover berries and let stand overnight.

Next day, strain well through cheesecloth or old dish towel and measure juice. One batch of jelly takes 3 1/2 cups juice, 4 1/2 cup sugar (measured in bowl), 1 box Sure-Jell. Add Sure-Jell to juice in large kettle, bring to a boil, add sugar all at once and bring to boil again; boil at least 1 minute or until it "sheets" off the spoon or clings between tines of a fork dipped in jelly.

Sometimes this takes longer than 1 minute. Take from stove, let set for a few seconds and skim off foam with tablespoon; discard foam or eat as a "taster." Pour into clean jars and seal with a lid or paraffin melted and poured over when jelly is cooled.

recipe reviews
Really Good Chokecherry Jelly
 #130080
 Rob (United States) says:
Liked the recipe, but would never juice the chokecherries by grinding them, along with the seeds. Although it is in extremely small amounts, the seeds contain arsenic. That's right, arsenic. No sense in grinding anyway, as the seeds can be bitter. Just cook them down and use your collander to collect the pulp and juice, then put it through cheesecloth to strain the juice.
 #130203
 PDdaddy (Minnesota) replies:
Rob, OMG! Arsenic! Call 9-1-1!

Do you realize that the human body actually needs certain minerals, vitamins, etc and that arsenic actually has some healthy benefits. No I'm not Joking! Health Benefits!

All that nonsense aside, I steam my grapes and plums and it works quite nicely. Just my two cents.
   #130131
 Cliff Plum (Montana) says:
This is almost the same recipe my grandparents used with the crushing and they lived till late 90s. The arsenic in such small levels boils of and besides no one said eat the pits. The natural almond flavor from the pits cant be matched with artificial flavors.
 #130267
 Jerry (Missouri) says:
Chokecherries do NOT contain arsenic. Parts of the plant contains a pre cursor to cyanide.
 #130284
 Teresa (California) says:
No need to grind the berries, when simply covering them with water, and simmering them gently for about 30 to 45 minutes will release their flavors. I let mine drip through several layers of cheesecloth overnight, and in this manner I get a very clear jelly. Please, please, please process your jelly according to the proper USDA standards -- sealing your jars with paraffin is no longer recommended. You will have longer, more wholesome shelf life if you process your product in a BWB.
 #134437
 Nadia Giordana (Minnesota) says:
My foolproof method to juice berries: First, freeze berries, then thaw them. This will allow them to release more juice. I then use a steam juicer to get pure, clear juice. No need to strain this way, no bitterness from seeds. Then follow the recipe.
   #157645
 Marial Hovet (Montana) says:
I've been making a version of this for 40 years... mine calls for 5 qts. berries; grind them (I use an electric grinder... have burned out a couple along the way...). Mix 3 ounces food-grade tartaric acid with 2 quarts cold water. Let sit for 48 hrs. and strain. The tartaric acid allows the juice to strain very easily. Then make jelly or syrup as desired. Yum!
 #167502
 Nancy Ogrodnick (Saskatchewan) says:
Easy trick my grandmother taught me, take a large roasting pan fill about a good 1/3 of pan with berries, cover with water leave in the oven overnight at 200°F... Drain through cheese cloth and if you have good juicy berries you can probably repeat and get another batch out of the same berries.
   #173209
 Cholecherry Charley (Montana) says:
I have been turning nature's bounty of chokecherries into wonderful syrup for the last 11 years by using the non-boiling recipe. Whole cherries are ground to a pulp, tartaric acid is added, and mash is allowed to juice for 2 days, then pressed by hydraulics to extract juice. Equal amount of sugar is added before pasteurizing on stove, then bottled. I've had the final product professionally tested for cyanide, and it was found to contain far less than what is allowed in bottled water.
   #182307
 Bonnie (Colorado) says:
A friend from Wyoming gave me this exact recipe years ago. Nothing compares to this because of grinding the berries with seeds. I couldn't find my old grinder and tried grinding in the blender. Not even the same. Ended up pounding them in a ziplock back with a hammer. It worked. The syrup smelled sooo good. Just like cherry almond. Ill buy a new old fashioned hand grinder by next year. This is the best recipe to extract the full flavor, Try it and taste the amazing difference.

 

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