Blackberry syrup made from wild fruit

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Food safety starts with cleaning!

Wash hands for 20 seconds

Wet hands under hot running water. Add lots of soap.
Rub and wash back of hands, wrists, between fingers and under fingernails for 20 seconds.
Rinse well under running water.
Dry with paper towels.
Use paper to turn off the water faucet.

Clean and sanitize sink and counter tops

Wash counter tops and prep sinks with hot soapy water.
Fill squirt bottle with 1 quart water. Add 1 teaspoon of unscented regular chlorine bleach or ¾ unscented ultra (6% sodium hypochlorite) chlorine bleach. Or use commercially prepared cleaner and follow directions on label.
Spray counter tops and sink with bleach solution. Let air dry.
Wash hands.

Clean as you go

Wash dishes, utensils, cutting boards, etc. in hot soapy water.
Let air dry.

Blackberry syrup recipe

Wild fruits from Minnesota's fields and woods can make very good syrups. Extraction of juice from the fruit is the first step in the preparation of fruit syrup.

Steps for extracting juice

Using ripe blackberries, gently wash in cool running water.
Crush berries and place in a stainless steel or enamel kettle.
Add 1/4 cup water per pound of fruit.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes, covered.
Cool and strain through cheesecloth or a damp jelly bag.
A pound of blackberries will yield 1 to 1-1/3 cups of juice.

Ingredients

4 cups blackberry juice
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Procedure

Combine all ingredients and simmer until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and pour into hot, sterilized half-pint or pint canning jars. Seal with two-piece canning lids.
Process in a boiling water bath. The time in the boiling water bath varies by elevation. For Minnesota, it is 5 minutes for half or quarter pints and 10 minutes for pint jars.

Isabel D. Wolf and William Schafer

Reviewed in 2018