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Chokecherry Syrup

As a young girl I remember my mother making syrup once the chokecherries were ripe. We called it 'supsil'. I didn't always enjoy picking the berries but oh my I did love the syrup. My favorite way of eating this is to dip fresh zwiebach in the syrup. A bit messy but so worth it. It is also wonderful on pancakes.
This syrup makes great gifts.
  • 4 cups chokecherry juice
  • 3 cups sugar
  1. Place whatever amount of chokecherries you have in a pot, cover just barely with water, bring to boil and simmer till the berries are soft.
  2. Mash berries, potato masher works well.
  3. Strain berries in a large sieve pressing down to get pulp with the juice.
  4. Whatever amount of juice you end up with, adjust sugar accordingly.  1 cup less sugar than juice is the ratio.
  5. Bring strained juice to boil, add sugar, bring back to boil and boil for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
  6. Pour into sterilized jars or into pretty decorative bottles. Keep refrigerated.
  7. Yield: 4 1/2 cups syrup

35 comments:

  1. I wish I'd had this recipe years ago. The neighbor children and I picked chokecherries and we all made jam. It took so much sugar and really didn't taste very good. They all took a jar home to share with their families. We had a lot of fun...with not very good results. Balisha

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  2. mmm...I love it when my mom makes supsil. My favorite way to enjoy it is on German Pancakes.

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    1. YUM!! ..I can relate..it was Soo good with a dash of cream..then just sup it up on a piece of bread!!!!!..We also called it SUPSIL!!

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    2. My father used to put a plain slice of white bread on a plate and pour chokecherry syrup and fresh cows cream on the top! Oh so good. I imagine it was a staple with him and his "papa" who raised him from a toddler!

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  3. I'm serving brunch this morning.....your supsil would have been a perfect thing. It looks so pretty too. Kathy

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  4. "Supsil" haven't tasted that in many years...yummy!! Thank you for bringing back another memory of Mom.

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  5. I am sure growing up on the Prairies that we must have had this too. I seem to remember something like this but I can't recall the little berries. Tiny red berries? It looks yummers Betty.

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  6. Oh, I loved chokecherry syrup growing up, but I'm afraid it was kind of a family joke. Every year, Grandma would go out hunting for chokecherries around the family cabin, and bring them home to make jelly. And every year, she morosely handed us jars of syrup- it never once set up right :) But oh how we loved this on pancakes!

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    1. LOL. that's exactly what my mom did!! Now I've made jelly and am searching for a syrup recipe!! Funny how hers was a mistake and I'm looking for it. I was hoping this recipe had a water bath canning method included. :(

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    2. Use sterile jars and bath for 15 minutes.


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    3. my mom made syrup every year when we were kids.We would get hauled out to park, walk side hills all day picking berries. Come winter it was well worth it. nothing better on hot pancakes.

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    4. This makes me giggle as we used to pick chokecherries at an old-timers ranch. The lady of the house poured her syrup in to whiskey jars. One year there was so much natural pectin in the berries all the syrup turned jelly! She had to reboil the bottles and put it in jars.
      anonymous

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    5. FYI the more green(not ripened) the fruit is the higher the level of natural pectin. That is why it sets up. The best jell and syrup is made with ripe fruit. The trick is to get to the berries just before the birds.

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  7. Oh what a wonderful memory! We used to pick chokecherries as children, and my Mom would make jam and syrup. Mmmmm.

    - Rebecca

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  8. You just triggered a host of memories.I LOVE supsil with fresh buns.YUMMY.
    Blessings,Ruth

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  9. Girls (Charlotte especially),

    Thanks for the answer re: apple crisp. To top it all off I found that I was out of oats. So I surveyed my pantry and found a box of ginger snaps, put them in a bag, whacked them with my rolling pin and mixed as though they were oats.

    WOW, it tasted GREAT! I love experimenting.

    Joys,

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  10. This seems like it would be a safe recipe to can as well?

    My mother in law always wants to go pick them, I have never eaten chokecherry anything. I am going to have to try this year.

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  11. is this the berries that smell like old man feet?? hehe...great pic gma

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    1. That is wild cranberries that smell like that !

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  12. The farm I grew up on had a bush, but now living in the city chokecherries are a thing of the past. I MISS them. Never did syrup, but did lots of jelly. Learned how when I was 12 from an older farm couple. Started my love for canning. thanks for the memories!

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  13. Sounds almost TOO easy! Will have to look around and see if we have choke cherry areound here.

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  14. DELICIOUS!!!! I wanted to make some this year, but didn't get the chance to. Next year!!!!

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  15. We love chokecherry syrup and my dad taught me to pour it over pancakes that are first smeared with sour cream. To die for!!

    Jody

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  16. We just discovered at least 5 dozen chokecherry bushes on our property and will make good use of this link! :)

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  17. Is there a worry of cyanide leaching into the syrup from the seeds?

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    1. I have not heard of this happening. I just know that my Mom always made this syrup every summer when the chokecherries were ripe and we never had a problem. We were just happy to dip fresh buns in the syrup or cover our pancakes with it:)

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    2. I know this is a year later from your post...but I just read this and though it worth mentioning....[EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't allow children or livestock to consume the raw fruit or leaves, as the cherry pits and—to a lesser extent—the leaves and bark contain a cyanogenetic glycoside, a toxic substance that can produce hydrocyanic acid in the body. This poison, however, is rendered harmless by heat, including that encountered during sun-drying.]

      Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/chokecherry-recipes-zmaz81jazraw.aspx#axzz2d10AOydj

      http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/chokecherry-recipes-zmaz81jazraw.aspx#ixzz2d1247bfW

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  18. Lost my recipe for this syrup. Knew I would find it on your site! Thank you so much!!

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  19. Hello, I am just looking for some clarification on the recipe. Point 4 says that 1cup less sugar than juice is the ratio... So if I have 8 cups juice then 7 cups sugar? Or is the recipe simply doubled and I would add 6C?

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    1. Sorry I didn't see this question until now. I would use 7 cups of sugar for 8 cups of juice. Did you make it and how did it turn out? And now I am hungry for supsil..I think I may have a jar left from last year:)

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  20. just add some apple juice and the pectin will gel it up so you don't have to use so much sugar.

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  21. My wife and I just finished canning our chokecherry jam and syrup. Jelly is also great, but missing some of the nutrition and 'spreadability'. While picking, we also sample the wares. Fantastic fruit!

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  22. How long does the syrup safely last in the refrigerator?

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  23. Just finished washing and cleaning a big pot full again. Choke cherries are plentiful this year. Will make syrup again. One of our great grand daughterswhen about 4-5 years old called it choke-up syrup. Ha ha Betty

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