My Montana adventures continue with this tasty Chokecherry Syrup recipe. This delicious and versatile syrup can be served over pancakes, waffles, and ice cream. Just don't get caught chugging it out of the bottle! 😉 Be sure to try my delicious chokecherry jelly & chokecherry fruit roll ups too!
I might or might not have been caught last night picking these tiny jewels on the side of the road. I was joined by my partners in crime, Anita, and Lori.
A lot of laughs were had as we plucked the chokecherries from the loaded branches of the chokecherry trees that line Anita's street.
This was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so we did not have our guns and bear spray. Luckily, they were not needed and fun was had by all.
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🧐 Why This recipe works
Chokecherries do not taste pleasant on their own, but it's nothing that a little (or a lot) or sugar can't fix! If you find this recipe too sweet, you can always use less sugar (3 cups instead of 4) and add a little extra pectin to thicken it up.
Making chokecherry syrup is quite similar to making jam or jelly. However, more water is used so that the consistency is more syrup-like rather than jam.
Chokecherry syrup makes a great gift for family and friends, especially to those who've never tried chokecherries!
🔖 Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chokecherries: You can use either fresh or frozen chokecherries
- Sugar: Granulated sugar
- Pectin: Some fruits have a lot of pectin, while other fruit have hardly any. In this recipe, we will be using two tablespoons of pectin. You can use powdered or liquid pectin. Although cornstarch can be used to thicken the syrup, it's not recommended for canning.
- Lemon Juice: Either bottled or frozen lemon juice, or a combination of lemon and orange juice.
- Optional: Feel free to add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract. Between the two, I prefer almond extract, since chokecherries naturally have an almond-like flavor.
🔪 Helpful Tools
🍒 How to Make this recipe
Step 1 | Prepare Chokecherries
Thoroughly wash chokecherries before by adding them to a large bowl and covering them with cold water. Skim the surface of the water, to remove any pests, sticks, and leaves. Add cleaned chokecherries to a saucepan and cover with four cups of water.
Step 2 | Boil & Mash Chokecherries
Bring the mixture to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. Halfway through, mash the chokecherries with a potato masher to release their juice. Pour the mashed chokecherries through a strainer to extract as much juice as possible.
Step 3 | Strain Juice
If you don't have 4 cups of juice, add pits and pulp into a bowl and cover with a cup of water. Stir the mixture and strain again to extract more juice.
Step 4 | Add Sugar
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Pour chokecherry juice into a saucepan and add four cups of sugar. Add orange juice and lemon juice. Simmer for 15 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.
Step 5 | Add Pectin
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of pectin and whisk to combine. Bring to a rolling boil for 2 minutes. Test a small amount of syrup by placing it in the refrigerator until completely cool to see if the syrup has the desired consistency.
Pro Tip: If you want the syrup thicker, you can reheat the syrup and whisk in an additional tablespoon of pectin. Bring to a rolling boil for one minute. If the syrup is thicker than you'd like, add water, ½ of a cup at a time, keeping in mind the syrup will thicken once refrigerated.
Step 6 | Pour into Jars and Process
Pour chokecherry syrup into sterilized jars. Wipe the rims with a clean washcloth or paper towel before adding the jar lids and collars. Hand tighten.
🫙Processing Instructions
To process the chokecherry syrup, add filled jars to a water bath canner, filled with hot water. Use jar lifting tongs to lower the jars into the hot water. Make sure the water is at least a few inches above the jars. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes.
Adjust Processing Time For Altitude
If you live 1000 feet or higher above sea level, you need to adjust the processing time for higher altitude! Follow the times listed below.
| Altitude | Additional Processing Time |
| 1,001 — 3,000 3,001 — 6,000 6,001 — 8,000 8,001 — 10,000 | 5 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes |
🍽 Serving Suggestions
You can serve this chokecherry syrup over your favorite pancake recipe. Some of my favorites include these eggless pancakes and pfannkuchen (German pancakes). You can also drizzle it on waffles and ice cream or sweeten your favorite cocktails with it!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Chokecherries look like mini cherries but grow in a clump, similar to grapes. According to Wikipedia, chokecherries are also known as Bitter-Berry, Virginia Bird Cherry, and Western Chokecherry.
They grow in most of the United States, Canada, and Northern Mexico. In Montana, chokecherries grow in abundance and are currently (September) ripe for the picking.
Yes, you can eat chokecherries, although you wouldn't want to pick one off the tree and plop it in your mouth. Yes, I speak from experience.
Chokecherries have pits that look like regular cherry pits only proportionally smaller. However, that's where the similarities end. Chokecherries don't share the same wonderful taste that regular cherries have. Instead, they have a bitter and astringent taste and will make you pucker or "choke" when you taste them.
Don't let the unpleasant taste of chokecherries fool you. They taste great when used in various recipes.
Some of the things you can make with chokecherries include syrup, jam, jelly, wine, and fruit roll ups. There are some that even dry and pound the chokecherries into flour.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract, which will enhance the cherry flavor. If you prefer, you can add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Mix in a small amount of the chokecherry pulp and skin for a chunkier texture.
- Leave out the pectin for a thinner syrup.
- If you love cinnamon flavor, add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon when you add the sugar.
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📖 Recipe
Chokecherry Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups chokecherries
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups sugar
- 1½ tablespoon orange juice
- 1½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon powdered pectin
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash chokecherries before by adding them to a large bowl and covering them with cold water. Skim the surface of the water, to remove any pests, sticks, and leaves. Add cleaned chokecherries to a saucepan and cover with four cups of water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. Halfway through, mash the chokecherries with a potato masher to release their juice. Pour the mashed chokecherries through a strainer to extract as much juice as possible.
- If you don't have 4 cups of juice, add pits and pulp into a bowl and cover with a cup of water. Stir the mixture and strain again to extract more juice.
- Pour chokecherry juice into a saucepan and add four cups of sugar. Add orange juice and lemon juice. Simmer for 15 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.
- Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of pectin and whisk to combine. Bring to a rolling boil for 2 minutes. Test a small amount of syrup by placing it in the refrigerator until completely cool to see if the syrup has the desired consistency.
- Pour chokecherry syrup into sterilized jars. Wipe the rims with a clean washcloth or paper towel before adding the jar lids and collars. Hand tighten.
How to Process Jars
- To process the chokecherry syrup, add filled jars to a water bath canner, filled with hot water. Use jar lifting tongs to lower the jars into the hot water. Make sure the water is at least a few inches above the jars. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes.
Notes
- If you want the syrup thicker, you can reheat the syrup and whisk in an additional tablespoon of pectin. Bring to a rolling boil for one minute. If the syrup is thicker than you'd like, add water, ½ of a cup at a time, keeping in mind the syrup will thicken once refrigerated.
- Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract, which will enhance the cherry flavor. If you prefer, you can add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Mix in a small amount of the chokecherry pulp and skin for a chunkier texture.
- Leave out the pectin for a thinner syrup.
- If you love cinnamon flavor, add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon when you add the sugar.
Jackielou Fuentes says
Hi cant find powdered pectin, i see liquid ones, is it still 2 tblspn?
Hilda Sterner says
It's funny you ask, I just tried this recipe with liquid pectin last week and it did not set, but it did make a great syrup consistency so I didn't bother trying to thicken it. If you do try the liquid, you may need to increase the amount of sugar.