Recipe: Very berry syrup mixes strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and more
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?
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
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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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 9
During this break in the heat, fertilize your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
*Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s now forming.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Feed them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias, annuals and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
Contact Us
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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