Blackberry Pancake & Waffle Syrup

I mentioned before that blackberries are my favorite berry. This time of year i pick as many as i can over a couple weeks span to bring home and usually i am in the kitchen for days making jams.


This year has been phenomenal for blackberries! We had a 'blackberry winter' as the old folks say, which meant we had a very mild winter. On a few levels, that sucks. I had allergies ALL winter long, and so did one of my kids. On another level, it can be really good for some plants come warm weather.


We went to the patch for the second time the other day and it looked like this out there:

Yea. So we picked and picked and picked... until we had 5 gallons of berries. That's just me and my husband picking. My arms look like i was in a cat fight with the Tasmanian Devil.

This is at least as much as i bring home by myself in a whole season, if not more. I still have loads of jam canned from last year, so i thought, i wonder what else i can make with blackberries besides jam, cobbler, muffins (which is another post entirely) and sorbet.

My husband made a random comment about blackberries and pancakes, and it was like lightning struck. Blackberry Pancake Syrup!

I didn't even know if ti was a real thing but i looked around on Google. I mean, IHOP has boysenberry syrup, so why not? Turns out, it is a real thing!

ATTENTION: Please have knowledge of how to use your pressure cooker in advance. I don't want this to be your first lesson in how to use one and i take no responsibility if you hurt yourself. There is pressure, there is steam, but there are also SAFETY PROCEDURES. Read your manual.

First step, get your pressure cooker and fill it with water, and get that on the stove and boiling with the lid to the side someplace.

Get out the blender (or food processor) and blend up a bunch of berries. I added a little water to get my blender going and pureed up several cups of berries.

When you want to start measuring, you need to get out a mesh strainer.

I had a nice perfectly sized metal bowl that my strainer fit on.

The puree is really thick and won't just magically separate itself, so i tapped the strainer against the bowl repeatedly until basically all that was left was seeds and all the juice and pulpy goodness had sifted through.

Do that until you have 4 cups and juice and fine pulp.

You need a good sized saucepan or stock pot preferably (i need a new stock pot) because when this stuff boils, it is going to EXPAND.

Add 4 cups of sugar. Turn on the heat, and stir until it's very dissolved.

I already had an estimated number of jars and rings sterilized and my canning equipment ready to go. If you've canned before, you know the drill. If not, get your jars/rings in hot soapy water and let them sit for a while, and put your unused lids in simmering water on the stove. When you have your blackberry mixture on the stove, you can start bringing your jars out of the bath and rinse off the soap.

Let your blackberries come to a boil. Boil on high for 2 minutes. Keep your spoon ready to stir because it WILL expand and it will feel like molten lava if you end up touching it. Nothing good to be felt there.

When it's done boiling, turn off the heat. Ladle blackberry syrup into jars, and make sure to leave ¼" head space.

Wipe off the jar rims, and put the hot lids on with your magnetic lid lifter, and screw rings on tight.

Place jars in pressure cooker and fasten on the lid. When it pressures up, let jars pressure for 10 minutes.

When your pressure cooker cools off a touch you can let off some steam so it can be safely opened. PLEASE read your manual and know how to use your appliance.

Remove your jars carefully with your jar lifter and remove to a towel or heat proof surface to cool.

And voila, you have blackberry syrup!

I am soooo excited to make pancakes now!