Choke Cherry Question

Solo1013 · 07-29-2010, 06:53 PM

I am working on collecting enough choke cherries for a 5 gallon batch of wine. I am trying to get about 15 lbs of fruit.

We had some heavy frost a couple of times in late spring around here so the yield from our wild fruit hasn't been as strong as I would like.

I'm considering freezing whatever I pick this year and combine it with next year's harvest. Has anyone tried this? Does the fruit lose significant quality if it remains frozen for that period of time? Any advice would be great.

**2ndGenBrewer** · 07-29-2010, 07:35 PM

"Does the fruit lose significant quality if it remains frozen for that period of time?"

Fruit can last up to a year depending on how you treat it before freezing. The best way I've found to preserve fruit is to vacum pack it before freezing in freezer quality bags. This will help pervent freezer burn and oxidation. Hope this helps!?

chip82 · 07-29-2010, 07:48 PM

I have about 20 lbs left over from last years picking that i am hoping is still good enough to mix in with this years harvest of chokecherries.

**Yooper_Brew** · 07-29-2010, 11:14 PM

I just stick my chokecherries in a big plastic trashbag. When it's time to mash them, they are a big pulpy mess. That is a good thing, actually! So, go ahead and freeze them if it's convenient.

gratus fermentatio · 07-30-2010, 11:47 AM

I always freeze/thaw my fruit for wine/mead making, this helps to break down the cell walls & allows for more juice extraction & more flavour, makes it easier to crush too. 2ndgenbrewer nailed it with the vacuum packing tho, if you plan to keep fruit frozen longer than a week or so, that is definately the way to go. Regards, GF.

Solo1013 · 07-30-2010, 03:52 PM

Thanks all for the input. I've got one more lead on some choke cherries and if that doesn't pan out I'm going to try vacuum sealing them and forgetting about them in the freezer for a year.