If you happen to have a bounty of fresh berries around, this is a great late Summer drink – and you can put it up to use through the cold winter months.

• 2.5 lbs fresh, ripe berries – about 6 pints. Use a mix of fruits for the best flavor.
• 2 cups water
• 1.5 – 2 cups sugar (preservative)

Combine the berries and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce to med-low and gently simmer until berries burst and release their juice – about 20-30 minutes.

Transfer cooked berried into a jelly bag. Suspend the bag over a large bowl and let the juice drip through. DO NOT squeeze the bag, as it will cloud the juice. Let the berries drain completely – about 1.5 – 2 hours.

Fill a large stockpot or canner 3/4 full with water and bring to a simmer. Heat clean, empty bottles in the simmering water (190F)

Transfer strained juice to a medium saucepan over med-low heat. Add the sugar – at least 1/4 cup sugar for every cup juice. Stir to dissolve – about 5 minutes.
Skim the top of the berry mixture to remove froth.

Both the water and the juice need to be at 190F – a bare simmer. Remove the bottles from the water and fill to the top. Cap tightly and return to the hot water bath, making sure they are completely submerged. After a full 10 minutes remove the bottles and let cool.

If any bottles don’t seal properly, refrigerate them and use up within 2 weeks.

This can be added to lemonade for a wonderful berry lemonade (or limeade) or can be saved to drink when fresh berries are just a fond memory. Some people like to add it to sparkling water as well for a fizzy fruit drink.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 12:28 pm and is filed under Kid-Friendly, Scandanavian, beverages. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.