posted 1 year ago
Black cherries and chokecherries both have their good and bad varieties, and soil can have an effect too. For instance, I know of an absolutely awful chokecherry bush, but the one next to my garden has fruit that is delicious for eating fresh, a little like sweet cherries with a touch of astringency. I suggest one course of action is looking around and tasting these wild cherries until you find an individual you actually like.
With domesticated varieties you can taste any given one and it will probably be relatively tasty (or tasteless...) and that is because they were selected as the best out of a variety of individuals. You can do the same with most wild fruits, because there is such variability in the yields and palatability of each of the fruits, as with domestic seedling fruits. I know of wild grapes, for instance, with very excellent yields and sweet fruit, and also vines that barely ever fruit. So to conclude this little tangent, it’s also a (good) option to select out of natural variation.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. -Proverbs 4:7