This homemade blueberry syrup sweetened with honey lets the true fruit flavor stand out. You can use fresh or frozen berries in this blueberry syrup recipe. Enjoy in tea, in yogurt, as an ice cream topping, or try a fruity twist on pancakes this weekend.
We’re big fans of blueberries here in New England.
While I was growing up, it was an annual family ritual to visit our favorite spots each year in late July through August and pick as many wild blueberries as we could in an afternoon. Many of these were eaten fresh or in a cup with a little milk and sugar. The majority of the bounty was frozen to enjoy all year. It was always a treat when my Auntie delivered freshly baked blueberry goodies.
Our local picking grounds were along railroad tracks that cut into a granite hillside. Summer cottage vacations always seemed to have a patch of wild blueberries growing nearby too and I have warm memories of eating fresh blueberry muffins every morning during our vacations at the lake.
Our acidic soil is the perfect environment for both wild and cultivated blueberries. Wild, lowbush blueberries grow in a dense carpet from underground runners or rhizomes. They tend to be found in dry, open ground, sunny meadows, down dirt roads, and along hiking trails.
Blueberries are considered a “Superfood” and are packed with nutrition, antioxidants, and are a great source of fiber. Just one cup of raw blueberries provides 114 milligrams of potassium, 24% of the suggested daily intake of Vitamin C, and 14% of the recommended daily fiber. Antioxidants in blueberries include anthocyanins, which might help fight cancer and flavonoids that may improve learning and cognition.
We didn’t know much about the health benefits of blueberries when I was a young. We just knew they tasted good and were a free source of fruit for our family to enjoy. It was also fun to forage for the ripe fruit and discover bushes heavy with berries as we scrabbled along the trails and brush.
When we purchased our property, there were eight mature high bush blueberry plants lining the driveway. Like their wild counterparts, these plants require very little care and continue to produce pounds of berries each year.
This year, the harvest began the last week of July and we picked every day for almost a month, ate our fill, and managed to stash some in the freezer to enjoy later. One of the things I experimented on this year is blueberry syrup.
After a few batches and a few modifications, I am very happy with this recipe. We soon discovered that we also enjoy blueberry syrup with honey drizzled over warm pancakes, stirred in yogurt, and as an ice cream topping. I am sure we will discover other uses.
Steps to Making Blueberry Syrup with Honey
Step 1: Peel several strips of zest from the lemon, and then juice the lemon. Set aside.
Step 2: Juice the blueberries by combining them with water in a pot over low heat. Once the blueberries soften, mash them with a potato masher and stir and simmer until the juice is extracted. Strain the juice and discard the solids.
Step 3: Add the juice back into the pan. Add the lemon zest and honey. Bring to a boil and simmer to thicken. Add the lemon juice, boil for one minutes more, and then remove the blueberry syrup from the heat. Discard the lemon zest.
Step 4: Serve warm or let the blueberry syrup cool, pour in to clean jars or bottles, and refrigerate.
Homemade Blueberry Syrup with Honey
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberries
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Using a paring knife or vegetable peeler, peel five 1-inch strips of zest from the lemon then juice the lemon reserving 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Set aside.
- Extract the blueberry juice by combining blueberries and water in a saucepan over low heat. Gently mash the blueberries with a potato masher and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Strain the juice into a heatproof bowl, pressing hard on the solids. Discard the solids.
- Return the blueberry juice to the saucepan. Add the lemon zest and honey. Mix to combine.
- Bring the saucepan to a boil over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon or registers 225°F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes
- Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Continue stirring and boil over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat, discard lemon zest, and allow the blueberry syrup to cool.
- Pour into just-cleaned bottles. Cover and refrigerate. Use within 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Are you interested in preserving a large batch? Then refer to this safe canning recipe from Ball.
Sources and Further Reading:
- “Basic Report: 09050, Blueberries, raw.” National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26. Web. August 2014.
- Prior, Ronald L. “Antioxidant Capacity and Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables.” USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. February 1998. Web. August 2014.
- Rodriguez-Mateos, Ana, Rendeiro, Catarina, et al. “Intake and Time Dependence of Blueberry Flavonoid.” American Society for Nutrition. August 2013. Web. August 2014.
You May Also Like:
- Cherry Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Small Batch Chokecherry Jelly from Foraged Berries
- Crabapple Jelly with No Added Pectin
- Small Batch Sweet Cherry Jam
- Honey Sweetened Concord Grape Jelly
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Alicia says
This looks so amazing! And I think would make wonderful gifts for birthdays and such. Would the recipe stay the same if you use blackberries instead of blueberries? Thanks so much!
©Rachel Arsenault says
Alicia, Yes, you can use any berry. If you are going to can it for gifts, you should use a safe recipe like the one from NCHC: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/berry_syrup.html
Alicia says
Rachel – thank you for getting back with me so quickly and I apologize. I was just now rereading all the info on your blog and saw where you did mention that it could be made with different berries, including blackberries. All I need now is the lemon and I’m set to go. Very excited about making this! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us….have a blessed day and week!
Pookah says
Looks so good! Our fruit syrup this year is is our failed cherry jam! The later batches of “didn’t-fail” cherry jam are just fine, but the first batches failed to jell for some reason. (We changed to Ball low-sugar/no-sugar pectin on the second weekend; it jells beautifully!)
Those times when the jams and jellies do jell, and we make syrup on purpose, we don’t strain it. We leave the berry chunks in. Yummy over ice cream or pancakes! In our area of Michigan, cherries in season are actually much cheaper than blueberries or strawberries, so cherries are our “everyday” jam and syrup.
I have bookmarked and pinned this recipe for next year. My brother-in-law will be thrilled.
olive says
do I have to wait 3 months to eat
©Rachel Arsenault says
No, you can eat right away. Once the jar is open, it is best to use up within a week or two since there are no artificial preservatives.
Angela Stoltz says
Question: rather than throwing away the “solids” couldn’t got dehydrate them to use in muffins and pancakes?
©Rachel Arsenault says
You can try it. I give mine to our hens.
brijcalvo says
I just made this earlier today, and I have to say that it’s delicious! I decided to puree the blueberries down a bit using an immersion blender, but left it just chunky enough to tell they were once blueberries, hah. I did have trouble getting it to thicken for some reason, I used fresh local honey sourced from a friend’s father who is a beekeeper.
Question, have you tried freezing any? I am wondering how it tastes after being frozen, I’d like to save some to have in the winter without having to actually can it.
©Rachel Arsenault says
Brijcalvo, I am so glad you enjoyed the blueberry syrup. Our blueberries are just beginning to ripen and I can’t wait to make a fresh batch. As far as thickening, I have different results depending on the honey too. I have never tried freezing. If you try it, let me know if it works.
Deborah Smikle-Davis (@debsmikdav1) says
Awesome! Who can resist this delectable syrup! My family would drizzle it on everything imaginable! Thank you for sharing this healthy and delicious Homemade Blueberry Syrup recipe with us at the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop! I’m pinning and sharing. I can’t wait to see what you share with us next!
ashandcrafts says
This looks so good! I love anything with blueberry. Thanks so much for sharing with us at the Merry Monday link party. I hope you’ll join us again this week. Sharing your post on Twitter!
Erlene says
I love fruit syrups for pancakes. I’ll have to whip up a batch.
Catherine Holt says
I would never have thought about mixing honey with the blueberry. It sounds super sweet…..yum!
Thanks for linking up to Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning.
Angi @ SchneiderPeepsa says
yum! We just picked 60lbs of blueberries and my kids are wanting syrup.