Blueberry Maple Syrup?

[Lazarus]

Has anyone ever experimented with making blueberry syrup or any other fruited variety? I have seen some very pricey bottles of it out there and would like to add it to my product offering. There are plently of recipes out there, but they are more geared for the immediate consumption. My concerns aren't so much around producing a tasty syrup (most of that comes from the added flavoring), but I'm concerned about stable shelf life and preventing bacterial contamination (e. coli, salmonella, etc.) from the fruit.

In looking at some commercial examples, it looks like they are using natural blueberry flavoring (which I have) and mashed berries. The flavoring can be added without a problem, but what to do with the blueberries? I need them to enhance the visual aspect of the product, but how do I ensure that they have been adequately heated to destroy microorganisms without turning them into complete mush? Should they be cooked separately and added before bottling, or heated to bottling temps in the syrup? I'm OK with not having whole blueberries but just pieces, but I don't want to liquefy them in the canning process. I'm also not sure if I should be concerned about accidentally ruining the brix from the additives and possibly inviting a mold situation.

Any ideas as to how to safely incorporate fruit into the bottling process?

Thanks!
-Laz


200+ taps and tryin' hard to grow
GBM 2 x 6
Lost the sugarhouse in '11
Boiling outside this year

[Ausable]

Hi Lazarus - We have a Friend that introduced us into Maple Syrup making about 20 years. She also makes several excellant fruit syrups and has shared some with us and it is very good. That said - Wouldn't You think the distinct maple flavor would so overpower the subtle blueberry flavor - that there would be no point in blending the two together. In my humble opinion - either one is great by itself ----but together? Also - these fruit syrups have been strained to remove all fruit particles - kinda like when you make a fruit jell and She puts the fruit syrups up in small bottles that seal --- like you would maple syrup. Sorry if I missed something in Your post and didn't understand it correctly. ---Mike---

[toquin]

If you get it figured out and you need some berries let me know. Organic and Conventional avalible.

[Sue @ Battel's Sugar Bush]

Laz,

While I agree with Ausable that I personally love the flavor of blueberries and maple, but think they should stand on their own, I have also noticed pricey blueberry maple syrups out on shelves. If people are buying it, why not provide it? Go for it!

I experimented with a small batch of home canned blueberry maple syrup last summer. I also tried strawberry maple smooch, which is a fruit sauce. Both were delicious. Then again, you could probably pour maple syrup on a pile of beach sand and I'd still enjoy it, being the maple addict that I am.

Anyway, if you strictly follow home-canning guidelines for making fruit syrups, these will provide you with a level of food safety I would also feel comfortable using on a more commercial scale. I don't know if you've done much other canning before, but there are some good, reliable sources for canning directions that tell you how to process and at what temperatures to prepare various foods for safe canning. I've learned some tips for other canned goods, such as using Clear Jel in canning apple pie filling instead of corn starch because the density of corn starch doesn't allow enough heat to infiltrate the jars.

- "Ball's Blue Book" is widely available. I don't remember if it lists fruit syrups.
- USDA has guidelines for a variety of canned foods at http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html
- If you do a Google search for a term, such as "blueberry syrup" and tell it to search only university web sites, you might get some good results from food science departments. To do this, make your search something like blueberry syrup site:.edu
- Use your county Ohio State University Extension office. Here in Michigan, one person in the region is assigned to home canning issues, but someone could inquire at any county office to get to her. (Can you tell my husband is an MSU Extension educator? But not in food.)

Good luck! Will you keep us updated?

Sue

[maple flats]

We have 4.5 acres of blueberries, but have not tried mixing, yet. My guess would be to heat the berries to a simmer, then put some in the container and top them with hot maple syrup and cap the container. Experiment with amounts but I don't think blending them ahead would give uniform results in ratios. It might be a winner. As the syrup begins to cool turn the container a few times to mix them. I would think at use you would also need to tip upside down and back to reblend and then use. Let use know. Our mixing so far has been to dish out the blueberries and then top with syrup. Try different grades but I'm thinking light or medium will be better than dark, so the blueberry flavor can come thru.

[Lazarus]

Thanks everyone!

I believe the important part of this is adding a flavoring in addition to the blueberry. I have a niece who works for a flavoring company and she supplied me with some "natural blueberry flavoring". It's quite concentrated so I am sure I can make it taste blueberry enough. At least, the commercial one lists their ingredients as maple syrup, blueberries, and natural blueberry flavoring, so I just need to find the right mix and process.

She also gave me raspberry flavoring as well as chocolate (not sure what to do with that one). The possibilities are endless!! Muh-ha ha!

-Mad maple scientist Laz