Blackberry Syrup
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Bursting with the incredible flavor of concentrated blackberries, this homemade blackberry syrup recipe is easy to make and tastes absolutely phenomenal! Whether you’re drizzling it over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream, NOTHING beats homemade!
Serve this blackberry syrup with our Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles, Gluten Free Oat Waffles, or Oat and Buckwheat Waffles. And while you’re at it, make some homemade Blackberry Jam!
This year saw the best crop of blackberries we’ve seen yet with the largest, juiciest, sweetest blackberries I’ve ever tasted. I think it must somehow be connected with the all-time, record-breaking long, cold, wet Spring we had this year. It was miserable to live in, but it sure did wonders for the blackberries!
Blackberries are so plentiful here in Washington State, they’re considered an invasive weed. And for the life me, every time we see blackberries for sale in the grocery stores we wonder why on earth anyone would pay for blackberries when they’re so readily available everywhere for free!
A tradition Todd and I have kept every year for the past 12 years is picking blackberries together each summer. Up until this summer our record was 19 gallons but this year we’ve got it beat: 22 gallons and still more to come! We usually just freeze them to use in our daily breakfast smoothies throughout the winter but this year I wanted to pick even more so I could have plenty extra for making blackberry syrup.
And of course there always has to be some extra for blackberry cobbler, blackberry pie, or this delicious French Blackberry Clafoutis!
What are some of your favorite ways to use blackberries?
Making your own blackberry syrup is easy to do and the end result is incredibly delicious and bursting with the vibrant flavor of Summer!
For anyone interested in canning, I’m also including instructions for canning this syrup for long-term storage so you can enjoy this wonderful syrup all year round. I plan on stocking my pantry with plenty of it before the Summer is through!
This syrup can be made with sugar, honey or made sugar-free.
This homemade blackberry syrup is phenomenal on pancakes, waffles, crepes, ice cream, cheesecake and any other way your heart desires!
Blackberry Syrup Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place blackberries in medium-sized pot with lemon juice and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the blackberries.
Note: You can stretch this syrup further without diluting the flavor too much by adding 3/4 cup water with the blackberries (then add a little extra sugar/honey/sweetener when you add the strained juice back to the pot. At the end just add an extra teaspoon of pectin at the end (or more if you prefer it thicker).
Mash the blackberries with a potato masher just to break them up further.
Strain the blackberries in fine mesh sieve or colander, collecting the juice in a large bowl.
A cool gadget I ordered a while ago is this jam strainer. It’s nice because you can suspend the fruit from above and let it drain by itself down into the bowl below. You can find it here on Amazon.
You should have about 3 full cups of pure blackberry juice. If it yields a little less or a little more, that’s fine.
Place the blackberry juice back in the pot along with the sugar (or honey or alternative sweetener). Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Stir int the pectin and boil for one minute. Remove from heat.
At this point you can either use the syrup immediately or let it cool and store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.
OR you can extend its shelf life by canning it. It’s super simple to do and will allow you to enjoy this delicious blackberry syrup all year long. Simply pour the hot syrup into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace from the top, wipe the tops of the jars with a damp cloth, and screw on the lids. Place the jars in a boiling water bath and process pint jars for 10 minutes and quart jars for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Store them in a dark, cool place and they’ll keep for at least a year.
If you don’t already have a canner here’s a complete set of everything you’ll need.
Enjoy!
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address and we’ll send it straight to your inbox!
Homemade Blackberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
- 2 1/2 cups cane sugar (can substitute 1 cup honey)
- Sugar-free: Use Swerve (if canning you’ll need to verify if alternative sweetener can be used)
- 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice (bottled is recommended is you’re canning the syrup)
- 2 teaspoons Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin , or powdered pectin of choice but follow its specific directions (use more pectin if you prefer a thicker syrup)
- See Note about stretching this syrup out further
Instructions
- Place the blackberries in a medium-sized pot and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until very soft and mushy. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher to further break up the berries.
- Place the cooked blackberries in a fine-meshed sieve or colander or in a cheesecloth to strain the juice. After the juice is done draining, use a spoon to scrape the puree around in the strainer to remove as much juice as possible, or squeeze the cheesecloth. You should have about 3 cups of juice.
- Rinse out the pot and pour the blackberry juice in it along with the sugar and lemon juice. Bring it to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Stir in the pectin and boil for one minute (no longer). Serve immediately or store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- IF CANNING: Pour the hot syrup into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, wipe the rims with a damp cloth and screw on the lids. Process in a water bath, 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts. Carefully remove the cans and let the rest undisturbed for 24 hours. Will keep in a cool, dark place for at least a year.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet August 28, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I used a very fine strainer placed on top of a glass beaker, the kind we use for pickled eggs, and found the process was less trouble if I did not mash in the pot rather mashed and moved the berries in the strainer.
We used honey and even not being crazy about honey the syrup is fantastic! Thank you so much for the guidance.
My first batch was jelly, I’m making a second batch today and as it cools it is turning into jelly.
I do a lot of canning and making my own sauces. I’m disappointed that this didn’t work.
I made a batch of syrup, using this recipe. It didn’t thicken; so I added more pectin. It still didn’t thicken, so I added even more pectin (totaling about 3 times the recipe amount), and it still has not thickened sufficiently. Something’s wrong here!
Hi Rich, that’s a lot of pectin! If it didn’t thicken even after adding 3 times the amount I’d say there’s definitely something off with the pectin itself.
This is a delicious recipe. I used a steam juicer to extract the juice. It was so much easier than the first time using a strainer and jelly bag.
Once I had my juice the recipe was the same. I am at a higher elevation so I boiled the pectin with the sugar and juice much longer.
Otherwise everything was the same up to water bath for 20mins to seal the jars! Thanks so much! I will use this recipe again and again.
Fantastic, Tina, thank you so much and I appreciate the feedback!
Did you cook the syrup for longer than one minute after adding the pectin? I’ve not done this myself, but in researching canning with added pectin I learned that not promptly turning off the heat after the one minute is up can cause the pectin to fail.