Blueberry Syrup

This was another case of me buying produce and not using it very quickly. We bought a some blueberries. I don't know why, we just did. I decided to use some of them in a scone, but that didn't use very much of them at all. The rest just sat in the fridge for another week. I knew I needed to use them up so I decided to make blueberry syrup. I knew had a recipe for it in my Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I didn't have nearly enough blueberries to make a whole batch. The recipe calls for 2 quarts of blueberries. I after I picked out the bad berries a washed the good ones I only had 1/2 quart. I cut the recipe in forth and got a couple cups worth of syrup. I didn't bother canning mine because it wasn't very much. I'll just store the small amount in a bottle in my fridge, but the good news is that this recipe can be canned so you can enjoy homemade blueberry syrup even when blueberries are out of season. I would make sure you have a good candy thermometer that is working properly because mine was acting a little weird. My syrup was super thick and my thermometer never showed it got to temperature. The recipe notes that the syrup is supposed to be thin, not super thick like mine.

Blueberry Syrup

• 2 quarts blueberries
• 6 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Wash blueberries, drain. Crush blueberries. Combine blueberries, 2 cups water, and lemon peel in a medium sauce pot. Simmer 5 minutes. Strain through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. I used a fine sieve. Combine sugar and 4 cups water in a medium sauce pot, boil to 230F (adjusting for altitude.) Add blueberry juice to sugar syrup. Boil 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Ladle hot syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Process 10 minutes (below 1,000 ft altitude*) in a boiling water canner.

*1,000-3,000 ft add 5 minutes
  3,000-6,000 ft add 10 minutes
  6,000-8,000 ft add 15 minutes
  8,000-10,00 ft add 20 minutes