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This fruity syrup makes most of late-season harvest

Recipe: Very berry syrup mixes strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and more

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 8, 2024

A mix of berries, plus a few other random summer fruits, go into the fruit syrup. Debbie Arrington

Late summer fruit can seem like a collection of leftovers – the last of the berries (but not enough to make jam) and (often overripe) plums, pluots or peaches. What to do with these odds and ends past their prime?

Straining syrup over a bowl — Strain the fruit juice after the first simmer.

Mix them together into a fruity syrup that’s a sure hit on pancakes, French toast or other breakfast favorites. (Debbie's sour cream blueberry pancake recipe can be found here. ) It’s wonderful drizzled over vanilla ice cream or plain cheesecake, too.

Berries tend to dominate this syrup’s profile in both flavor and color – that’s why it’s “Very Berry” and not just “miscellaneous mixed fruit.” For this batch, I used equal amounts of strawberries and blueberries plus the last of our wild blackberries and two overripe pluots. Like blending wine varietals, that mix of fruit creates a syrup that’s deep in flavor as well as color.

Very berry syrup

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups mixed berries and/or fruit (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, plums, pluots, peaches, etc.)

1 lemon or lime

1 cup water plus more if needed

1-1/2 cups sugar

Syrup with pancakes — The berry syrup is great with Debbie's pancakes.

Instructions:

Prepare fruit. Hull strawberries and roughly chop. Remove pits from stone fruit if using.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepot, place prepared fruit. Squeeze juice of lemon or lime over fruit; gently toss. Add 1 cup water. Over medium-high heat, bring to boil, then reduce heat. Simmer fruit until very soft, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Strain the juice using a jelly bag, fine sieve or two layers of cheesecloth. Measure juice; it will be about 1-1/2 cups. (Add a little water if needed.)

Return juice to saucepan. Add sugar, stir to dissolve. Bring mixture to boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to jar or bottle. Store covered tightly in refrigerator.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes berries strawberries blueberries blackberries fruit sauce breakfast cooking produce management Sacramento gardening September summer stone fruit

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Garden checklist for week of June 7

Afternoon highs are expected to be back in the mid 90s by midweek, then edging towards triple digits. Plan your planting and garden activities accordingly.

* Remember to water early.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other summer favorites. Make sure they stay hydrated.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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