Last week was one of those weeks, for me. Kids’ doctors appointments, car towed due to lack of parking spaces and a meeting in 5 minutes, vacation plans canceled due to husband’s important meeting, and finally, my computer deciding not to start. Not to mention that I started a new contract a few weeks ago. Enough said.
Not to be deterred, I’m back with raspberry syrup. I’m taking advantage of the seasonal deluge of raspberries. I buy a lot of berries from the local farmer markets and then freeze as many as I can fit in my freezers (ok, yes, we’re slightly spoiled with one main fridge and one backup fridge). I freeze the raspberries in a sealed plastic bag (if you freeze them, don’t wash them, or pat them dry with a paper towel if they are wet to avoid freezer frost). And, you can use fresh or frozen raspberries with this recipe.
What can one do with raspberry syrup? Here are a few ideas:
- ice cream sundae
- yogurt
- marinades
- smoothies
- pies
- sodas
- iced tea
- snow cones
- baking (raspberry brownies are divine)
I don’t add water to the syrup in an effort to keep it concentrated, but feel free to play with this recipe, and use your sweetener of choice.
Raspberry Syrup
Cooked raspberry syrup
2 cups of raspberries
1 cup of honey (or other sweetener)
- Place the raspberries in a saucepan and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Cool and strain the seeds out using a strainer, cheesecloth, or muslin bag.
- Add the liquid back to the saucepan and add the honey.
- Simmer the liquid for 5 minutes, or until the honey is completely dissolved. To make it more concentrated, simmer it longer.
- Cool the liquid. Store the syrup in the refrigerator. It lasts for a month or so. I bet you can freeze it as well, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Raw raspberry syrup
2 cups of raspberries (defrost berries if they are frozen)
1 cup of honey (or other sweetener)
- Place the raspberries in a blender and blend completely.
- Strain the seeds out using a strainer, cheesecloth, or muslin bag.
- Place the liquid back in the blender or food processor and add the honey. Process until the honey is completely dissolved.
- Store the syrup in the refrigerator, or freeze it to last longer.
which of the two syrups do you prefer?
hmm, I find it easier to extract the syrup from frozen berries by boiling them. If they’re fresh, I go for the raw syrup. Hope that helps!
Erica, I see your choice of sweetener is honey…I cannot use honey so how do you think vegetable glycerine sweetened with liquid stevia would work??
It just might work but I haven’t tried either glycerine or stevia. There is a reader who has had success doing this. See the comment from Tracy in the Cinnamon Cookie post: http://comfybelly.com/2009/06/cinnamon-cookie-glutenfree/