Originally appeared on Geeks with Drinks written by jeska

Summertime is winding down, which means it’s a good time to capture summer’s flavors for a rainy fall day. Brad and I are huge fans of infused simple syrup in cocktails, our Strawberry Mint Simple Syrup made quite a few appearances this summer (especially in modified Strawberry Mint Juleps!).

So when we got a giant container of fresh, organic blueberries in our farm co-op box this week, I knew it was time to mix up some Blueberry Simple Syrup!

Blueberry Simple Syrup Recipe

blueberries-sugar-vodka

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • one tablespoon vodka (optional, will last longer with it)

Directions

  1. Combine blueberries, sugar and water in a saucepan set over medium heat, bring to boil.
  2. Reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The blueberries will burst on their own, so don’t worry about chopping them first.
  3. Pour through strainer, gently pressing to extract as much juice as possible; don’t press too hard, it’ll make your syrup cloudy!
  4. Mix in vodka (if using), transfer to a mason jar

blueberries-boiling

A Note about Simple Syrup Shelf Life
This simple syrup should keep in the fridge for 3-4 weeks without vodka or 6-8 weeks with vodka (although mine always seems to disappear before then).

If you’re curious about spoilage (and because we’re geeks about drinks, you know we are), there’s a great article over at Aclademics featuring the results of a simple syrup experiment where they tested how long various types of simple syrup last. The short answer, if you make your simple syrup 2:1 (sugar/water) and add vodka, it’ll last WAY longer. Fruit probably adds an extra wrinkle to this plan, so keep an eye on your syrup and make more if you’re in doubt.

Coming soon: Blueberry cocktails ideas…

The post Blueberry Simple Syrup Recipe appeared first on Geeks with Drinks.