For the last month, I’ve been pining away for some wild chokecherry shrubs to harvest and make chokecherry jelly. Last year it seemed like everywhere we went, we spotted chokecherry shrubs along the road. They were all loaded down with ripe chokecherries just calling my name to harvest them. I figured that as often as we saw them on private property, it wouldn’t be that hard to find them on public lands. Well I was wrong! Last year we found one medium size chokecherry shrub to harvest and that was it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ungrateful for that one solo shrub, but I’m disappointed we didn’t find more considering the gazillions of chokecherries we saw on private lands!
Last year we harvested enough chokecherries to make about half a dozen half pint jars of chokecherry jelly. Of all the jams and jellies I made last year, chokecherry was definitely my favorite. I even thought it was more delicious than our honey sweetened strawberry jam which used to be my favorite for years so this is a big deal! It turned out a beautiful rosy purple color. With the added honey to sweeten up the tartness that chokecherries are known for. it made the most delicious jelly (here’s our recipe for chokecherry jelly). I also read an article this winter that stated chokecherries are a natural source of vitamin C just like the elderberries we forage. This spring I promised myself I would find more wild chokecherries to harvest this season!
Chokecherry Identification
Like most wild edible berries, once you learn how to identify the plant it is quite easy to spot them all over. Chokecherry is a tall shrub with grayish to reddish colored bark with raised lines. The flowers are a creamy white color and hang in clusters best described by my wild edibles book as “forming bottlebrush like clusters” that are about 3″-6″ long.
The leaves are oblong with finely toothed edges.
The berries often look almost black from a distance but when you view them up close you can see they have a deep reddish purple color. The berries grow in a “bottlebrush” like cluster just like the flowers do. When I was first learning to identify chokecherries and elderberries, the formations of the berries on the stems was the easiest way for me to tell them apart (you can read more about identifying and foraging for elderberries in this post).
Chokecherry Foraging
After last year’s chokecherry search, I made a point this spring to seek out chokecherries in flower when we went adventuring in the mountains. I even made notes on a piece of scrap paper to write down where the chokecherry shrubs were so we could easily go back to harvest them later in the summer.
Then low and behold, last week we went on an evening drive in the mountains to explore a new area and spotted numerous chokecherry shrubs loaded down with deep red berries right along the dirt road on public lands! I was ecstatic! The only downside was that we didn’t have any berry buckets or bags with us to harvest any. We decided to drive back up there later in the week to harvest chokecherries and be more prepared with our berry picking gear!
I mentioned in the post on foraging for huckleberries that we invested in some berry rakes (you can find them here) a couple years ago. They work good for huckleberries but work even better for the chokecherries which are a little bigger and more firm than a huckleberry. It was amazing how many chokecherries we could harvest in a short amount of time with one of these handy gadgets!
I read in this book, my favorite wild edibles book, that chokecherries become sweeter after the first frost. When we harvested chokecherries last year it was just after the first frost. Last year I nibbled the flesh of the chokecherry when we were picking them and was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It wasn’t bitter at all and definitely didn’t make my mouth pucker like I’ve heard chokecherries can do (hence their name!). This year we picked chokecherries before the frost and they definitely have a bit more of a tart flavor than last year’s pickings. That just means I’ll have to add a little more honey to this year’s batch of chokecherry jelly!
My wild edibles book also notes that “All parts of the chokecherry (except the flesh of the fruit) contain the poison hydrocyanic acid.” By drying or cooking the chokecherry, the cyanide is destroyed. We don’t eat the chokecherries raw and I make a jelly with them instead of a jam. A jelly uses just the juice of the berries. When harvesting chokecherries with Little A, she knows not to eat them and I keep a close eye on her anytime we’re foraging. She helped us pick chokecherries last year and this year, although most of the chokecherries are up on high branches out of the reach of a little three year old!
Medicinal Uses for Chokecherry
For mother’s day this year, my husband gifted me this new medicinal plant book by Michael Moore. It was recommended by a local herbalist I took a class from last year. This book has a section on chokecherries, but it focuses on harvesting the bark for medicinal purposes and doesn’t focus much on the berries. It states that chokecherry bark can be used medicinally to treat and help soothe a cough. In the fall when we’re not at the height of gardening, foraging and canning season I hope to harvest some chokecherry bark and try out some of the medicinal recipes in my new book!
I just finished a big batch of my favorite chokecherry jelly. Here’s the recipe so you can make some too!
What are your favorite ways to use chokecherries?
Haven’t had chokecherry jelly since I helped pick them as a child. Thanks for this post – makes me miss Montana … 🙂
For those without chokecherry foraging, I have tried crabapple jelly with tasty results!
Take care,
Michele
Love chokecherry jelly…I made it one year… haven’t been back home to get anymore…I miss all those wild fruit jellies that mother earth provided for us
Honestly most people will let you forage on their land, especially for something like chokecherries which aren’t considered to be a choice edible. (Unlike blueberries which people guard like the gold in fort knox)
We don’t have chokecherries in the UK (I don’t think…), but I do have a berry picker! I need to get out and see what berries we have growing wild that I can use it on! Thanks for sharing, I love reading about plant use in other place.
WE have these on our land in Northern Idaho. I was told they were poke berries and are poisonous. I havent harvested them due to that. Is there such a thing as a poke berry and are they different or was someone pulling my leg?
Pokeberry are similar. Pokes stems are bright red (telltale), and the ‘berries’ are tightly grouped and usually dark purple. A lot of folk will eat poke leaves when they’re young, but I would avoid them unless you’re using them as a dye.
My family have made Chokecherry Pie for 3 generations. Tedious to pit but worth the time for a piece of pie, even better al la mode with vanilla ice cream.
I know I’m late to this. When I was young my grandma made syrup from choke cherries. Best thing ever on pancakes!
I appreciate your article here, and the information that you’ve shared (I too love chokecherries and chokecherry foraging!)
However, please know that the berry rakes you recommend are devastating to huckleberry plants. Many huckleberry patches on public lands have been kept and harvested for hundreds and hundred of years by individual Native families (at least, this is true in the Pacific Northwest). They use the berries and other parts of the plant for ceremonial and medicinal purposes, and for food, too. Their rights to do this are protected by treaty in many states (i.e. it is protected by law), and while I don’t know of any Native family who won’t share, most newcomers are oblivious to these ancestral and legal rights. The newcomers use the rakes, take as much as they can, and often sell the berries (this is why I *never* buy huckleberries!) This new presence / technology / industry is destroying the plants, and sometimes entire patches.
I recommend getting to know the people who are Indigenous to whatever region you forage on, and asking them for permission to harvest in their territory (and then, share with them!) It’s about basic respect, reciprocity, and cultivating good relationships.
Wow. Racist much? I suggest you stay in your lane settler.
Kukstsmamc! Thank you for your expression of respect for the Territories in which we live. We are all
YUCWMENLÚCWU “Caretakers of the Land”.
Thanks for sharing that, Carol. I don’t buy foraged plants (we gather our own) but will be sure not to buy wild huckleberries now. I’m curious about the rake but I would assume that any ethical forager wouldn’t use one if it harmed the plant (I hope!). Sorry about the rude reply. I appreciate the information. 🙂
There was a racist comment left on this comment thread that I deleted as Admin. We do not allow racist comments on our blog.
Unfortunately there are some people who are destructive to plants when wild harvesting. We are very conscious of not harming plants when we wild harvest and would not use or advocate use of something harmful. We do have a berry rake that was recommended as safe by the Wild Huckleberry Association. We are careful when we use it for a variety of berry harvests, although I’m sure there are people out there who don’t care about the plant and could potentially harm it if not used properly.
Some people buy huckleberries from state or county run programs which try to encourage people to care for the land through replanting with indigenous or safe plants. You buy bundles of native tree or bushes of 10-25-50-100 or more for dirt cheap, usually 1 or 2 year saplings. Cost is usually $1- $5 per plant. Look at the conservation department of your state or county websites beginning in January to order seedlings for spring plantings. You plant them in that quanity using a dibble bar. That looks like a shovel that you drop into the ground which separates the Earth, you drop in the bare root plant in the hole and then make a hole perpendicular to the first several inches away with the dribble bar and press the soil back over the seedling to ensure the seedlings is burried in dirt. Ideally, we should grow what we need and not harvest in the wild. We don’t have to do monoculture which is bad on many levels, but we certainly can grow and harvest beneficial plants in a polyculture setting or food forest. If you buy from a farm stand, chances are you are buying ethically harvested produce, because the farmers are harvesting and selling to make a living and won’t kill their plants accidentally because it would cause economical loss the next year. Bottom line is, it’s usually safe to buy berries if grown locally. Research the seller if you are concerned.
Can these be found growing in northern Illinois southern Wisconsin? Everything about foraging is always in the western parts of the states.
I am not familiar with the wild edibles in your region so I apologize I cannot help you. I have specific foraging/wild edibles books for our region so maybe you could find one specific to your area to help answer your question. Good luck!
I want to watch for these on the roadside. Can you include a photo of a mature bush? In which month are they likely to be bearing flowers and fruit? I know that may depend on location. I’m in Nebraska, and plums are starting to flower in May. Asparagus and lilacs are usually great on mother’s day, if that helps at all.
In our area, they usually start to flower late spring/early summer at lower elevations. In my experience the fruit is ripe in August/September. Our growing season is likely cooler and shorter than where you are so chokecherry in your area is probably blooming and fruiting earlier than in Montana.
I checked on some chokecherry bushes today. All.berries are green so they won’t ripen until Sept? I’m just trying to figure out when so I don’t drive way back in there only for them not to be ready. Thanks
We’ve noticed that the chokecherries ripening depends on your location and elevation. This year we saw chokecherries ripen in the valley in late July/August. The chokecherries we found wild up in the mountains are at a higher elevation and didn’t ripen until later August and into September.
I have a friend that makes the best chokecherry punch. She finally gave me the recipe for it after asking for it for years. She uses a really involved process because she says the best taste come from the pits.
She gives me a quart every year for my birthday and I find myself doling it out carefully so that it will last. She cans it, and you add 3 parts water to one part of the juice. Excellent. If you like cranberry juice, you would love this punch!
I’ve never heard of chokecherry punch. What a wonderful birthday gift from your friend, it sounds delicious!
Can you share a picture or link to the berry rake you got from the huckleberry association? I would be interested to see what style it is. We tried the red one once and even when we were very careful, it still damaged the plant so we have decided not to use them and to try to encourage others not to use them as well as we are seeing a ton of devastation and decline in hucks from these berry rakes. You can always tell where the rakes were used the year before…
I don’t know where our berry rakes ended up when we moved this last year- likely in a box out in the shed that hasn’t been unpacked yet! I will share a picture when I find them 🙂
I keep seeing comments that chokecherries are bitter or sour or that they are too “something” to eat right off the tree but they make great jelly, jam, wine, etc. BALONEY ! I have been eating them right off the tree since childhood (I’m now 82). If I spot a chokecherry grove, the bears had better head for the hills ’cause I’m comin’ in! I’ve recently learned how to make perfect currant jelly (from my own currant bushes) and I plan on branching into chokecherry jelly (I have my own chokecherry grove of about 20). I might try making wine too. When someone asks me what my secret is for staying so youthful, I tell them I drink plenty of wine and a little bit of beer.
As a diabetic I need to avoid jelly and syrup. I am experimenting with chokecherries to make a flavored vinegar for making shrubs. Anyone have experience or advice?