Black Cherry Harvest

In addition to the 40+ acres of fir and pine on our property, we have 3 acres of black cherry trees. Even though the tree is not native to this area, Vic decided to experiment with growing a hardwood, and black cherry seemed to be all the rage at the time.

The trees didn't turn out so well, at least from a commercial forestry point of view. Oh, they're still alive and growing, but they are growing very slowly and not very straight. But they still count towards our Forest Stewardship Plan, so replacing them is not high on our priority list.

They do produce fruit - tiny clusters of bitter fruit suitable mostly for cough syrup, at least in my opinion. Vic and Phyllis used to make jellies and such, so we decided we'd pick some and try our hand at turning our poor hardwood stand into something edible.

It didn't take more than an hour or so to pick a gallon or so of fruit between the two of us. The comb-like device in the photos is used to literally comb the berries off of the branch; the berries are fairly sturdy, so they survive intact.

We did some quick searching online and found a recipe for a black cherry jam. This particular recipe called for more than a 2:1 ratio of sugar to berries! After cooking the berries down and adding the sugar and some pectin, the result was indeed a jam, but didn't taste enough like the original fruit to make it worthwhile.

The rest of the berries were cooked down, but we haven't yet been combined them with anything else; the syrup now sits in our refrigerator and freezer waiting for a suitable purpose. If only it tasted good...

- Mike (& Corinne)