Make your own fruit syrup and can it!

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     Something that I really do not want to let go to waste is any produce that I grow, or am gifted or purchase at a really great price!  Getting an abundance of anything should not be wasted and that is why I am always looking for great ways to can and preserve these things. 
       Recently, Anita and I were able to split an order of strawberries from our produce place that were a super great price.  I knew that I would freeze some and wondered if I needed to make more jam because my jam cupboard is overflowing.  Then, Anita sent me this link to a Strawberry Syrup recipe.  I loved this idea and of course, being me, decided to take it a step further!  Click Read More to find out what I did! 

This is a small sampling of what I made! There is more, much more!

       What I didn't mention at the beginning of this post is that not only did I share strawberries with Anita, she also gave me huge bags of blood oranges!  Blood oranges and other citrus have been very kind of like zucchini here in our area.  You know, people start sneaking them onto their neighbor's porches because they don't know what to do with it all?  I've shared a lot of ideas for using up citrus ​here and here, but I am always open to trying new things, and I thought "If I can make strawberry syrup, why not blood orange syrup?"   I mean, what a great thing for when Halloween comes around, right?  Blood Orange Lemonade at your party?  Wicked! So, I got to work on the oranges first and made 6 pints of Blood Orange Syrup!  Man!  It is good stuff!  Next, I did the Strawberry Syrup and was able to get 2 quarts and 7 pints of that stuff!  It is a good thing that I got a lot because my DIL loves the stuff and has asked me for more! LOL!  Plus, my husband and I have been having it on our ice cream in the evenings and at my grandson's birthday party, I used it to make Strawberry Lemonade!  

       The recipe is so simple and the results are so good and useful in so many ways!  Use them on waffles and pancakes, use as a syrup on cakes before frosting, swirl into homemade ice cream as well as top ice cream with it.  Make delicious drinks by flavoring with it.  The strawberry lemonade was a hit at the birthday party.  Can you think of other ways to use these fruit syrups?  
          Here is the basic recipe:

        When I finished the strawberry syrup, I still had some blood oranges, strawberries and some lemons left over, so I mixed them all together and made a small batch of mixed fruit syrup which is also amazingly good!  Here are a few tips to make this recipe versatile for many soft fruits: 

• If you are simply using juice, and I mean freshly squeezed that is kind of a thick juice, not store bought thin stuff, you will want to boil it a little longer than you do pulpy fruit like strawberries in order to make it thicker if you want it to stick to your pancakes. 

             Speaking of pancakes, I made gingerbread flavored pancakes to try the blood orange syrup out                 on.  I knew that lemon and orange flavors go well with gingerbread so I thought this would be                     tasty!  I was right!  My granddaughter, Amelia, was my test subject and she asked for seconds!

• Blend other fruits, like strawberries and other berries, or peaches in a food processor until they are smooth, with no chunks.  
• Use equal parts of fruit and sugar.  I know it sounds like a lot, and it is.  But, I tried it with less sugar and it was disappointing.  Luckily, I tried it before I canned it, so I added more sugar.  It was much better.  The added sugar helps it to become a syrup.  
• Don't forget the lemon juice for the acidity.  Use bottled juice for the standardized acidity.  Plus, lemon has natural pectin that will help with the thickening.  

       Anita showed me her canning lid sized pouring spouts that she puts on her jars when she is ready to use here syrup.  There are many varieties available on Amazon in large mouth and regular mouth jar size!  I am going to get a little wider spout for the Strawberry Syrup because it is so much thicker that the Blood Orange Syrup.  I am getting them in regular and wide mouth size because I used both types of jars.  Most of the varieties come with 2 lids per order, so that is very nice!  

      I almost forgot to mention the labels that I made for the jars.  They worked great on the tall, straight quarts that I have.  But, the rest of my jars have so much embossing on them, the labels won't lay flat and look rather messy.  I suggest printing them on cardstock and attaching them to the jar with twine if you are gifting this syrup.  Or, for personal use I just wrote with sharpie on the lid.  But for gifting, I really liked having a label that tells ways to use the syrup.  So, here is what I made, click on it to print. I used Avery Address Labels #15264.
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        My grandchildren who come to our house every other weekend have decided that the next time they are here we will do a pancake breakfast bar together and enjoy a variety of syrups!  Sounds delicious! That makes me think of this Pancake Sundae Station that we once did! 

        I also need to mention something else!  My good blogging friend, April J Harris posted a great article about using blood oranges!  Since Anita has given me another bag of oranges, I'm going to be using some of those recipes next!  You may want to check them out, too.  Anita, if you are reading this, thank you very much, and go to April J Harris for more Blood Orange ideas! LOL!