Syrups / Jams

Cooking time: 15 minutes | Difficulty level: Easy

For a while I relied on store bought strawberry and blueberry syrups. But then I started getting sick of all that high fructose corn syrup in all the syrups, so my Mom gave me the recipe to make my own syrups / jams. It is super easy, super fun and so much healthier! Besides, it lets me get creative and make my own flavors (next up: Orange and Lemon).

Ingredients
1 cup chopped strawberries / blueberries
1 cup sugar
Tap water. We will add this as we need



Method

1. Take the chopped strawberries / blueberries in a thin bottomed pot.
2. Add all of the sugar to it with two teaspoons of water and let it sit for a couple hours.
3. The acid from the berries will break down the sugar. Once all of the sugar melts, put the pot on medium flame.
4. Stir the mixture intermittently, making sure the sugar doesn't start crystallizing. If it does, add a spoonful of water and raise the heat. We want to make sure that the heat melts the sugar, and not just evaporate the water.
5. Once the syrup starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer for one minute.
6. Take the pot off the stove, let cool for about half an hour and then pour out in glass jars.
7. Remember, this syrup does not have any preservatives so make sure to keep the lid tightly shut (I have found Ball mason jars to be best for storing this) and do not dip in wet spoons.
8. Your syrup is now ready to be enjoyed on pancakes, waffles, cakes, and sandwiches. Get creative!

Helpful tips:

• Keep in mind that different fruits / berries have different consistencies. My blueberry syrup turned out thicker than the strawberry one.
• Thicker syrups are better to use as jams in sandwiches, while thinner ones work best on pancakes.
• As a rule if you know you want your syrup to be thicker beforehand, make sure to add less sugar than fruit.
• To thicken a syrup later on, you can add a teaspoonful of corn flour and bring to a boil.