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!
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
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 our friend, 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! The first thing I prepared with my chokecherries was chokecherry syrup, and yes, I shared with my friends!
Jump to:
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chokecherries: You can use either fresh or frozen chokecherries
- Sugar: Granulated sugar to sweeten the syrup.
- Pectin: Some fruits have a lot of pectin, while other fruits 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 Chokecherry Syrup
Step 1 | Prepare Chokecherries
Thoroughly wash chokecherries by adding them to a large bowl and covering them with cold water. Skim the surface 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 20 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 end up with less than 4 cups of juice, cover the pits and pulp with the amount of water required to make 4 cups of juice. Stir the mixture and strain again to extract more juice.
Step 4 | Add Sugar
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 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 for altitude.
Adjust Processing Time For Altitude
If you live 1000 feet or higher above sea level, you need to adjust the processing time for higher altitudes! 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 baked protein oats, 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 ripen in September.
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, chokecherry jelly, chokecherry 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.
- 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.
- Leave out the pectin for a thinner syrup.
- If you love cinnamon flavor, add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon when you add the sugar.
🍓 More Syrup Recipes
If you enjoy this chokecherry syrup recipe, give these other syrup recipes a try!
Did you make this recipe?
📖 Recipe
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Chokecherry Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Thoroughly wash chokecherries by adding them to a large bowl and covering them with cold water. Skim the surface 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 20 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 end up with less than 4 cups of juice, cover the pits and pulp with the amount of water required to make 4 cups of juice. 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.
- 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.
Nutrition
Video
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.
Greg Bouchard says
Nice flavour with the Vanilla !
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Greg! I appreciate the comment and review!
Bobby Gardner says
Is there a way to make the syrup less bitter. I tried a small batch with a very little baking soda added, and I liked the syrup better without.
Hilda Sterner says
Chokecherries have a bitter aftertaste. Even the wine I make with chokecherries has a bitter aftertaste. Personally, I haven't noticed it in the syrup but each batch will be different based on the chokecherries used and when they were picked. Picking the cherries later in the season can be helpful!
Lynn says
I have enjoyed the cloak cherry syrup since childhood and this is my first time making it. The recipe was lost from me and I was glad to find it here. Thank you!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Lynn,
So glad you found my recipe and glad you enjoyed it!
Casey says
LOVE THIS SO MUCH! I added almond extract and a little cinnamon. It was amazing! The almond brought out the cherry flavor. I am getting ready to make another batch, trying it with vanilla instead of almond extract. I'm sure it will be just as yummy!
Casey says
OH, I also did not add the orange juice, but only because I didn't have any on hand.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Casey, I love that you're trying it with various ingredients. Good job!
Faith Foust says
Thanks for telling me where to find our local chokecherries! I made the sauce without any pectin as I like it runny to put over ice cream and pancakes. Just cooked it till it was starting to thicken. I canned 8 half pints (used 6 cups of everything instead of 4) and had a little left over to put in the fridge. It is scrumptious!
Casey says
I loved this recipe! Thank you so much! A new must have!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Casey!
Bridgit N says
It tastes delicious! I didn’t add any pectin and my syrup ended up too thick nonetheless. I added more water, brought to a boil while whisking and was just right. I’m going to try it w/less sugar next time I make it.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Bridgit, I have a feeling that the pectin level in the chokecherries varies because some people have mentioned that their syrup was too watery and the last time I made it became too thick. Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless!
Kenny Stamm says
Just started with 4 cups steamed chokecherry juice. Modified, 2 TBL lemon juice, no orange juice. Did a double batch and used 1 box pectin which is about 4 TBL
Turned out really good. Will use this every year. Other recipes have too much lemon juice for my taste.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Kenny, I love it when people share what they did and how they adjusted the recipe so others can benefit as well. Thank you for including that info and also for the 5 star rating. I really appreciate it!
Mardi Benson says
If you don't do the canning step, how long will the syrup keep?
Mardi
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Mardi,
I've had it last in the fridge 3 months, but I'm sure it would be good even longer.
Kimmi says
While I love the flavor additions in the notes of this recipe, there is one thing that confuses me overall. I followed the recipe and added the pectin in when it mentioned, but it didn’t do much thickening at all. I’ve read other places that when using powdered pectin you need to add it before the sugar, or it will not thicken up. If this is true, why not move the step with the pectin before adding the sugar? Thanks!!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Kimmi, I have pectin as optional because chokecherries are generally considered high in pectin. Depending on the batch that you end up with they may not even need any pectin to thicken. I prefer to not add the pectin unless absolutely necessary. That's why it's the last step. When I have added it, I haven't had an issue with it not thickening. You may be looking for a thicker consistency than I was. You can also try adding a slurry made with water/cornstarch. That should thicken it right up, although the cornstarch might give the sauce a slightly cloudy appearance. I hope that helps!