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 Feb. 9
Be careful walking or working in wet soil; it compacts easily.
* Keep the irrigation turned off; the ground is plenty wet with more rain on the way.
* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.
* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.
* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).
* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.
* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.
* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.
* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.
* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.
* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.
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