Fall has finally graced Nebraska! Goodbye 100+ temps and hello cool days and freezing nights! The hot weather kept me from attempting normal canning practices this summer. However, as I have become more proficient with harvesting wild game, I have also become more aware of nature’s other seasonal bounties. Nebraska has multiple fruits and berries native to the state that make delicious canned goods and sauces. So far on my list to try include: wild plums, chokecherries, rosehips, elderberries, and sand cherries. In previous years I’ve experimented with wild plum jelly, however two years of bad drought and a late frost this spring yielded few plums to be found in southwest Nebraska.

This allowed me to progress down my list and the next item was blatantly starring me in the face on CRP shrub thicket site visits, and even while I was driving around town! Chokecherries – who knew they could produce such a bumper crop. The trees were loaded with bushels of small shiny black cherry clusters, I would pick until my bin was filled and return the next day for more before cooking down the whole batch and straining the juice. Freezing allowed me to hold off on the canning process until cooler temperatures graced my kitchen.

 

 

While I read through multiple recipes and followed directions exactly, I still ended up with chokecherry syrup. And to be honest, I’m not disappointed! The tart flavor of the chokecherries balances the sugar in the syrup. I tested it on a batch of blueberry pancakes and was delighted! Hopefully, I will share a recipe for a glaze soon, thinking for all manner of game-meat in the near future. I used the recipe from the University of Minnesota Extension, but added some extra lemon juice to help with the setting of the jam.

I encourage all folks who chase game to consider trying you hand harvesting native fruits. Nothing beats getting out of the house opening morning of pheasants & quail season, watching dogs work and seeing the bright yellow, red and earthy hues of fall –BUT savoring homemade staples comes close, and is a great way to connect our memories to all manner of harvests throughout the year.