Mmmm…Blackberries

For the past month, I’ve been getting the most wonderful blackberries at the farmers’ market. Supermarket blackberries aren’t bad, but these are sweeter and more flavorful. I’ve been gorging myself on berries and we’ve had so many that I’ve been trying to find new things to do with them. One can add them to salads and there’s the obvious blackberry cobbler, but I’ve been looking for new recipes. I’ve found some online, but one of my new favorites was given to me by a friend.

It’s a recipe for blackberry syrup and it’s delicious over pancakes, and even better over ice cream. I haven’t been able to find a printed version of this one, but I believe it may have been adapted from something in a back issue of Southern Living. Here’s how it works:

1. Mix equal amounts of water and sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat (I usually use 1 1/2 cups).
2. Simmer, stirring frequently,until sugar dissolves and keep cooking until mixture is bubbling steadily (if boiling very hard, turn down heat slightly).
3. Add blackberries. The best proportion seems to be using twice as much blackberries as sugar, so for 1 1/2 cups sugar, add 3 cups berries.
4. Add about 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries have softened and the mixture is syrupy. It helps to mash the berries against the side of the pan as they soften.

Note: The consistency of your syrup will be fairly thin, like true maple syrup, not super-thick, like pancake syrup from the grocery.

Enjoy!

– Lynn Spencer