Back in June, hail happened.

It shredded our garden and ruined the apples, pears, plums, and cherries, and currants, red and black.

It even set the rhubarb back!

Amazingly, the wild chokecherries benefited from having some, but not all, of the fruit knocked off. They are relatively large this year, being the size of a large caper rather than a small pea. The hot weather we’ve had since late June concentrated their juice, making them extra flavorful.

After taking out stray stems and leaves, I barely covered the whole cherries with water and simmered them for a while, until they fell apart when smashed with a potato masher. Then into cheesecloth and hung overnight. This, of course, is happening on a day that is humid and 94° F.

We garnered about 12 cups of juice from 10 pounds of cherries.

Chokecherries: deep red velvet on toast. Yum.