Native Fruit Recipes

SOUR CHERRY SYRUP -- from Jenna 3 pounds washed and stemmed sour cherries, unpitted 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice 3 cups white sugar 3 cups water In a large saucepan, bring sugar, lime juice, and 3 cups water to a boil, stirring occasionally. Tie cherries up in 2 layers of cheesecloth and gently lower into pan. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Lift cherries in their cheesecloth and hold above pan for a minute to let syrup drain. Set cherries aside and let everything cool. Once cooled, pout syrup into clean jars or bottles. Keep in refrigerator until needed. If desired, place cherries in a clean jar and cover with syrup. Notes: The cooked cherries taste kind of like prunes, and they kind of tasty to snack on. Stir 3-4 parts cold water with 1 part syrup and add ice to make sour cherry coolers, or dilute syrup with club soda to make cherry soda (very tasty), or use the syrup in cocktails. The original recipe called for 5 cups of sugar, but we thought that was waaaay overkill, and so reduced it. I think it's probably far tastier without the extra two cups of sugar.

Simple No-Pectin Raspberry Jam – from Danielle L. *Raspberries contain enough pectin naturally that adding extra to homemade jam is unneccesarry. This is my favorite jam in the whole world. 6 cups raspberries 6 cups sugar Heat sugar in oven at 250 F. Heat and mash clean berries in large pot on medium temperature. Bring to full rolling boil for two minutes. Add heated sugar, bring to boil again for one minute. Remove from heat and beat with electric mixer for 4 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Mongolian Cherry Jelly – from J.P. • • • •

1500 ml (6 cups) Mongolian cherries 250 ml (1 cup) water 1 package powdered pectin 1200 ml (4.5 cups) sugar

Stem and wash Mongolian cherries and place in saucepan with water. Bring water to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes until fruit is soft. Mash fruit to press out juice and strain. Return juice (3.5 cups) to saucepan and stir in pectin crystals. Place over high heat and stir until boiling. Stir in sugar and bring to a vigorous boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Pour into sterilized jars and seal with paraffin. Highbush Cranberry Jelly – from J.P. • • •

1000 ml (4 cups) highbush cranberries 500 ml (2 cups) water 500 ml (2 cups) sugar

Wash and stem the berries and place in a saucepan with the water. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes or until all the berries have burst open. Strain out the juice and return juice to the saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until the mixture falls in a sheet from the spoon. Pour into sterilized jars and seal with paraffin. Highbush Cranberry Sauce – from J.P. • • • •

1000 ml (4 cups) highbush cranberries 50 ml (1/4 cup) water 15 ml (1 tbsp) gelatin 250 ml (1 cup) sugar

Prepare cranberry juice as in the previous recipe. While the juice is hot, add sugar and gelatin and stir until dissolved. Cool and serve as a sauce with meat and wild game. Pincherry Jelly – from J.P. • • • •

1500 ml (6 cups) pincherries 250 ml (1 cup) water 1 package powdered pectin 1200 ml (4.5 cups) sugar

Stem and wash pincherries and place in saucepan with water. Bring water to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes until fruit is soft. Mash fruit to press out juice and strain. Return juice (3.5 cups) to saucepan and stir in pectin crystals. Place over high heat and stir until boiling. Stir in sugar and bring to a vigorous boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour into sterilized jars and seal with paraffin.

Chokecherry Jelly with Powdered Pectin – from J.P. To extract the juice, wash all fruits thoroughly before cooking. Add enough water to cover the washed fruit and cook 15 minutes or until fruit is soft. Do not crush or grind the seeds which contain a cyanide-forming compound that can be toxic. When fruit is tender, press lightly through a colander. Then, let juice drip through a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Excessive pressing or squeezing of cooked fruit will cause cloudy jelly. One pound of fruit should yield at least 1 cup of clear juice. • • •

3-1/2 cups chokecherry juice 4 cups sugar 1 box powdered pectin

Stir pectin into juice. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly add sugar to juice mixture. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. Pour into hot, sterilized half-pint jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Cover with two-piece lids. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes at altitudes from 0 to 1,000 feet or for 10 minutes from 1,001 to 6,000 feet. Approximate yield: 5 to 6 - 250mL Jars

Saskatoon berry Jam – from J.P. Wash berries and put through coarse food chopper. Measure 4 cups pulp, and add water just to cover in large pan. Boil gently. Add: • •

Juice of 2 lemons or 2 tablespoons bottled juice. Zest of one orange for flavour (optional) 3 cups sugar

Boil about 20 minutes. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal with two-piece self-sealing lids. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes at altitudes from 0 to 1,000 feet or for 10 minutes at altitudes from 1,001 to 6,000 feet. Approximate yield: 5 to 6 - 250mL Jars

Cherry pie filling – from J.P. Ingredient Fresh sour cherries Granulated sugar Clear Jel Cold water Bottled lemon juice Cinnamon (optional) Almond extract (optional) Red food coloring (optional)

Quantities of ingredients needed for 1 quart (946 mL) 7 quarts 3 1/3 cups 6 quarts 1 cup 7 cups 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. 1 3/4 cups 1 1/3 cups 9 1/3 cups 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. 1/2 cup 1/8 tsp. 1 tsp. 1/4 tsp. 2 tsp. 6 drops 1/4 tsp.

Quality: Select very ripe, firm, tart cherries. Procedure: Rinse and pit fresh cherries, and hold in cold water. To prevent stem end browning, hold pitted cherries in water containing 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or six-500 milligram vitamin C tablets in 1 gallon of water. For fresh fruit, place 6 cups at a time in 1 gallon of boiling water. Boil each batch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. Drain but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Combine sugar and Clear Jel in a large saucepan and add water. If desired, add cinnamon, almond extract and food coloring. Stir mixture and cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in drained cherries immediately and fill jars with mixture without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process for 35 minutes in a boiling water bath.