Homemade Blueberry Pancake Syrup
Fresh homemade blueberry pancake syrup is a real treat, and one you can easily make at home and can yourself! Use fresh or frozen berries for this breakfast must have!
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Like just about everyone else I suspect, we are all trying to figure out our new normals. We are learning new things, bread baking seems to be a favorite, and checking off those to-do lists that never seem to ever be to-done. Between working at home, and having Emmett home full time, I have tried to tick off a few things on the list, and one of them is cleaning out and reorganizing my fridge, pantry, freezer, and closet. One by one they will get done. I started off quarantine like a mad woman, but have slowed my roll to a more steady pace with it all.
This homemade blueberry syrup was one of the first things I tackled during my time at home, but with the kid and work duking it out for my focus, I’m only now getting a chance to post it! Whoops.
We had a bit of a mishap with our stand freezer a couple of months ago and it go left slightly open overnight. Thankfully that thing is a workhorse, and only a couple bags of vegetables were victims to my accident. But enough frost had built up, that it demanded attention. I started scouring through it to find what I could utilize right away, and start paring down the supplies so that it would make defrosting it and reorganizing easier. The blueberries for this homemade blueberry pancake syrup were first on the list!
The best part about this recipe is that is a two-fer! Not only will you get homemade blueberry pancake syrup out of this, but the leftovers from the blueberries can be made into blueberry butter! You know, like apple butter? But with blueberries! This is a virtually NO WASTE recipe!
If you’re new to canning, don’t let this all sound intimidating. Canning is one of my favorite past times, and it can be done safely with just a few tips and tricks. If you’re nervous, I recommend investing in a couple of canning books to learn more about it. The tried and true Ball Canning books are great. But I have come to find that the recipes are outdated, and somewhat lackluster compared to some newer ones I have made from books like America’s Test Kitchen Foolproof Preserving, or Rebecca Lindamood’s Not Your Mama’s Canning, for inventive recipes that are simple to follow and pack a punch of flavors. While I have done quite a bit of canning, I am also very aware of the safety requirements needed to make it successful process, so I tend not to do as much full development myself, and lean on resources that I know are tried and true. This recipe is based on Ball’s Canning Year Round magazine.
If you want more canning recipes, I’ve got a whole canning category available. And as always, if you have questions, also leave a comment!
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Homemade Blueberry Pancake Syrup
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Processing Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 45 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 Half Pints 1x
- Category: Canning
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fresh homemade blueberry pancake syrup is a real treat, and one you can easily make at home and can yourself! Use fresh or frozen berries for this breakfast must have!
Ingredients
- 4 1/4 pounds Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 4 cups Water, divided
- Cheesecloth
- 3 cups Sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice – USE BOTTLED
Instructions
Wash and drain blueberries. In a large stainless steel pot, or enameled dutch oven (6 quart minimum), bring the blueberries and 2 cups water to a boil, crushing them with a potato masher. Simmer them for about 10-12 minutes, and stir occasionally.
Line a mesh food strainer with several layers of cheesecloth, about 3. Place the strainer over a large, deep bowl, and pour the blueberries into the strainer. DO NOT press the blueberries, this will create a cloudy syrup. Let the blueberries rest for 30 minutes, until until you get at least 2 1/2 cups of blueberry juice. SAVE the blueberry pulp if you want to make blueberry butter.
Combine sugar, and 2 cups of water to the stainless steel saucepan, or dutch oven. Bring this to a boil, and stir until sugar dissolves, Boil this syrup, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture registers 220 Degrees. Stir in the blueberry juice, and lemon juice. Bring this to a boil, and then reduce it to a simmer, allowing it to bubble for 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat, and skim off any foam that has developed.
Ladle syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/4″ of headspace at the top of the jar, to allow for expansion of the syrup while processing. Wip the rim of the jar, and seal the jar with a lid and ring. Repeat this with the other jars. Place the sealed jars in a boiling water bath canner, and process for 10 minutes. All the jars to sit in the water bath, uncovered and with the heat off for 5 minutes before removing from the water. Place on a towel on a counter, and allow to cool and seal completely.
Notes
From Ball Canning Year Round Magazine
Keywords: Blueberry, Syrup, Breakfast, Homemade, Canning, Preserving
love being able to make from scratch, especially things like syrup that I usually buy, so much appreciated and homemade always tastes better and I like knowing the ingredients, thank you
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Where do you use the 2 cups of water?
Where does the other 2 cups of water get used???
Oh! I’m so sorry I missed that! I’m updating the recipe right now!
Why can’t the lemon juice be fresh?
HI Danielle, It’s recommended to use bottled lemon juice because the acid content is more consistent than using fresh lemon juice, which can vary in acid from lemon to lemon and not be as reliable in canning/preserving.
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I am new to jam and jelly making. I am going to try to make the blueberry syrup so I can make the blueberry butter but I don’t understand how I am going to boil the berries first with no water in the pot. Could someone please explain it to me so I’ll know next time? Thank you for your help.
Good morning Frances, the berries will break down naturally on their own and release their juice to help boil the rest to create a syrup.
How long is the self life of the syrup?
Hi Cyndi! If you can it, you can store it for 1-2 Years. In the fridge, it’s good for at least 6 months.
My sauce was way too thick it only drained a few drops. I even put it in a food processor and it didn’t help liquefy it much. I had to put it into a strainer ( vs jelly strainer I had) and then I got the more juicy stuff. Hope it turns out ok.
★★★
Hi Makayla, sorry you didn’t have success with this recipe. Did you try removing the cheesecloth and just using the regular strainer? Did you add in all the water as well?
Do you put water in to get blueberries started?
Hi Subrina, if you have juicy blueberries the water may not be needed to get them started boiling. But if you do, you can use 1 cup of the water that is called for to do this. The berries will need to break down significantly to release as much juice as possible. I hope that helps.
Is it normal for the sauce to thicken to like a jelly after its been processed?
Taste was great, from the bit I didn’t process and used that night on icecream.
Also only got about 5 half pints out of it.
Thanks for the follow up Kirby! All berries are a bit different and give off more or less juice which does change the final count of jars out of it. But I’m glad you got 5, that will hopefully last a little while 🙂
Oh and yes – it will thicken slightly after processing in the jars. It may take a couple of days to get to it’s full consistency, but it will thicken.
Mine turned out very runny/thin. Not syrupy at all. I followed the directions exactly. Any suggestions on how to save it i.e., get the syrup consistency? Thanks
Hi Karey, it will set up more as it cools and stores. I’ve actually had mine set up and have to nuke it a few seconds to thin it out again after canning.
Mine was runny before I canned it, and while it was hot. When it started to cool off it started to thicken up to almost a thinner jello consistency.