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A variety of syrups can easily be made at home. Juices from fresh or frozen berries, cherries, apples, and grapes all make great syrups. You can make your own juice or use commercially prepared juices to make syrup.
Caution: Do not attempt to make a reduced sugar syrup from low acid fruits.
Caution: Do not attempt to make a reduced sugar syrup from low acid fruits like figs, Asian pears, melons, white peaches, or American and European varieties of elderberries. Canning syrups from these fruits could be unsafe if the sugar content is not high enough.
Enjoy fresh fruit flavors year-round. Use syrups in a variety of ways, such as:
- Crepe, waffle, pancake, and ice cream garnish
- Add-on in a smoothie, a hot or cold beverage, or baked good
- Mix into yogurt or hot cereal
- Create a marinade or sauce for cooking
Extracting juice methods
Drip method
Select 6-7 cups of fresh or frozen fruit of your choice. A combination of fruits can be used. Wash, cap, stem and sort fresh fruits. Crush the fruit using a potato masher, food mill or food processor. Follow this method for extracting the juice:
Place crushed fruit in a saucepan. Heat to boil and simmer until soft (5-10 minutes). Strain hot pulp through a colander and drain until cool enough to handle. Strain the collected juice through a double layer of cheese cloth or jelly bag. Do not squeeze the bag. Measure strained juice. Discard the dry pulp. *
The yield should be about 4½ to 5 cups.
*Note: The leftover pulp can be blended with other fruits such as apple sauce or canned pears and made into dehydrated fruit leathers.
Steam juicer method
One of the easiest ways to extract juice is by using a steam juicer. This unique piece of equipment allows you to conveniently extract juice by steaming the fruit in a basket with small holes. The juice then drips into a reservoir which has a tube outlet for removal.
Making the syrup
Yield: About 9 half-pints
- 5 cups strained fruit juice*
- 7 cups sugar
*To make syrup with whole fruit pieces, save 1-2 cups of fresh or frozen fruit. Replace 1-2 cups of juice with the fruit,
- Combine fruit juice and sugar into a large saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer for three minutes stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat, skim off foam, and fill into clean hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner.
- Start timing as soon as water returns to a boil. After processing, take canner off heat. Remove lid. Wait 5 minutes before removing jars.
Process times for half-pint or pint jars at altitudes of:
(hot pack)
- 0–1,000 feet: 10 minutes
- 1,001–6,000 feet: 15 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: 20 minutes
Storing Syrups
Syrups must be processed before storing at room temperature. Once opened, the syrups should be stored in the refrigerator.
If freezer space is available, the syrups may be frozen instead of canned. Be sure to leave 1-inch headspace to allow room for expansion during freezing.
Related content
- Preserving Fruits: Wild Berries and Fruits
- Making Jams, Jellies, and Fruit Spreads
- Preserving Foods: Fruit Juice & Apple Cider
Source: OSU Master Food Preserver Program
