Experience-Seeds-Knowledge-Plant Discoveries-Ecological Enrichment-Join Now Click Here!
Is there any greater joy than harvesting fresh fruit or veggies, making a delicious dish and enjoying it with friends? Last week we harvested a batch of Japanese Mulberries, Northern Red Raspberries, Wild Black Raspberries and Yellow Black Raspberries at the farm.
It was a hot day, and the bees were out, but we enjoyed marveling at what was produced over the growing season.
3 types of raspberries (left), Japanese mulberries (right)
We had a small harvest of about 7 cups of berries total. What to do with a small harvest like this with 4 different types of berries? Your guess is as good as mine. Since I love pancakes, I decided to make a pancake syrup. To highlight the flavor of the berries, I kept it super simple:
7 cups of berries
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups organic sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
*If needed, 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in a bit of water to thicken
I combined all of the ingredients in a saucepan (with the exception of the cornstarch), brought the mixture to a boil, then brought the heat down and simmered until desired thickness. The way I see it, straining is optional. If you are not bothered by seeds, go ahead and keep them. The mixture will be a bit thinner after straining them out. At that point you may want to add cornstarch for more thickness. Without cornstarch and with straining, the mixture was just slightly thinner than maple syrup.
As you can see, the color was a rich, deep purple. The taste was outstanding, with the mulberry flavor smoothing out the sharpness of the raspberries. You could still distinctly taste the mulberries and the raspberries in the sauce. The pancakes absorbed the sauce nicely, without getting too soggy. Our taste-tester agreed!