Raspberry Syrup

I went to a friends house today and picked her raspberry patch. I was in heaven, although my kids were screaming the whole time. I got so many raspberries I was able to make raspberry syrup! One of my favorite types of syrup and perfect in the middle of winter when there's snow on the ground, frost in the air and summer seems like a mythical creature. It reminds me that summer is out there somewhere.

So, I dug around in the basement, found the juicer I inherited from my mom. You could make this with the seeds in or use cheese cloth to strain the seeds. My husband doesn't like seeds so I graciously take them out for him.

It still has the dust on it and everything.

Here they are all nestled in for a nice steam bath. I let them simmer for a good two hours till I felt like most of the juice was out.

Here it is all frothy. I tried some thinking it would be fabulous but it was sour, wait till you add the sugar though, fantastic.

This is the clear jell I use to thicken the syrup instead of using corn syrup.

Mix the clear jell in with the sugar before putting it in the juice or you'll end up with chunks of clear jell, trust me, no one likes to eat chunky syrup.

Here they are looking all regal and ready for the freezer. I threw some tin foil on top and put them in the freezer for later. Tomorrow might be later.

Ingredients:
2 cups raspberry juice
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons clear jell

Mix clear jell with sugar and pour into juice. Makes 1 1/2 pints. (I ended up making 10)

Huckleberry Syrup

Last Fall we went huckleberry picking. The Idaho state fruit and since I'm from Idaho it fits. I froze some and decided I needed to use them up. I'm saving the other ones for when I make raspberry huckleberry jam.

I took the huckleberries and put them in the blender with 1/4 cup of water to make a smoother mixture.

Then put them in a pot and turned the burner on to medium-low. I then added 1/2 cup sugar. I took 1 cup water and 2 Tablespoons corn starch and mixed them together to thicken the syrup. Then I mixed it all together until it thickened.

Ingredients:
1 cup huckleberries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons corn starch

Directions:
Combine the huckleberries and water in blender until smooth. Put in saucepan on medium-low heat.

Add sugar. Take water and corn starch and combine. Add to huckleberries. Stir until thickened.