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Blueberry season is about a week away and I just couldn't wait any longer to try out some fresh blueberry syrup. I bought a couple clam shells at our local grocery store and tried out this recipe before making up a big batch to can.
If you are planning on preserving this syrup please ensure you use clear gel that is safe for canning, or just leave it out all together. If you are using it fresh or storing it in the fridge for up to two weeks feel free to use regular cornstarch.
First make sure all those cute little blueberries are washed and the stems removed. You don't want any ending up in your finished syrup!
Gather your ingredients:
4 Cups whole blueberries
1/2-1 c sugar (you can add more if you'd like we chose to keep this relatively low sugar)
1/2 c water
1 T lemon juice
1 T clear gel (or cornstarch) optional
You are going to want a medium sauce pan, a whisk and a rubber spatula as well
Put the berries, water, sugar and lemon juice all in a medium sauce pan over med/high heat. Stirring frequently to prevent burning, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
The berries will turn an amazing color and begin to burst. As you gently stir, smash the berries with the whisk. This is where you want to taste a little and see if you'd like it more sweet. Feel free to add more sugar if you'd like at this point. If you do, just cook for an extra minute to dissolve the sugar.
Add the clear gel or cornstarch. Careful to avoid lumps! Whisk and cook about one more minute. The syrup should thicken slightly and will a little more when it cools. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
Pour into clean containers or jars.
From here you can store it in a glass jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, or water bath can according to jar size and altitude. Here we used half pint jars and are just under the 1000 ft mark, so we opted for 10 minutes. We doubled the recipe and ended up with 9 half pint jars of syrup.
Enjoy as a topping for pancakes, ice cream, yogurt, etc. Pour some into a lemonade for a yummy twist, mix with some vinegar and oil for a quick vinaigrette. The sky is the limit! Let me know how you use your blueberry syrup!
