Blueberry Infused Maple

[sugaringman85]

The new thing is finding what you can add or age your maple syrup in. I've seen and heard people trying blueberry infused maple syrup. Would like to jump on that band wagon as we supply syrup to a pick your own blueberry stand and think it would be a huge hit. Anyone try it yet on a retail basis?

[Nogden3929]

Was thinking about trying this, did you give it a shot? How did it sell?

[NhShaun]

I haven't tried Blueberry infusions yet, but have done a bit of reading into it and talking with local sugar makers.

It seems like some people just add blueberry extract, which would mean your syrup density would need to be adjusted? I imagine you can over flavor that pretty easily as the extract is pretty potent stuff.

Others seem to just drop a couple fresh blueberries into a bottle and hot pack it. I am not sure how much blueberry flavor is released from a whole blueberries or how they keep over time. I am also not sure how that fits into the bottling guidelines and labeling requirements as it is no longer pure syrup, especially visually.

And other people crush up some fresh blueberries and hot pack a large batch of syrup and let it age for a few weeks to a month. Then strain out, filter it and hot pack into smaller containers as usual. This method sounds like the most authentic
way to infuse and make sure you still have a clean looking syrup. It also seems easier to adjust things to find the flavor you are looking for. Sourcing local blueberries seems easier than finding blueberry extract as well.

I have just done the last method separately with cinnamon and vanilla beans and it turned out great! Running it all through my filter press and it came out crystal clear. I have had about 10 people taste test the samples and so far everyone likes it.

[mdm1]

My wife used blueberry frosting emulsion to flavor ours. She used 1 tps per pint. She gets it from Michaels. Everyone that tried it asked for more. But unlike most people here we are just micro producers. 10 gal this year. And we use it ourselves and give it to friends and relatives. We did strawberry, vanilla coffee, cinnamon and strawberry cinnamon also. Just in small batches. We add just before putting the lid on.