Easy Blueberry Sauce {Make it probiotic}

I started making this easy blueberry sauce as an alternative to maple syrup to go with pancakes, waffles and porridges. Even though maple syrup is one of the better discoveries of civilization, it is nonetheless mostly pure sugar. I would be lying to say that I’m against sugar, but I do try to limit the amount we eat.

When I try to recollect our eating habits in Russia, there was never a substance similar to maple syrup that we would slather over the entire breakfast once or twice a week. As I mentioned before, I do not recall ever seeing overweight kids when I was growing up. Sure, we had honey but that was such a treat that we would eat it very sparingly. And most of the honey was dark and strong so most kids didn’t care for it anyway. The other thing was homemade jams and jellies but even those were never used in quantities of maple syrup, plus they contained at least some resemblance to fiber.

The purpose of this rant is not to engage in bashing of a particular substance, but to try and draw examples of good eating practices. My position is that no food stuff, real food that is, should be excluded from a diet. But what we eat should be in the best form possible: unprocessed whole grains when baking, naturally leavened dough when possible, sprouted seeds and grains, fermented vegetables and dairy, soups with homemade broths and stocks. And while I’m at it – why not top brunch creations with homemade berry sauces? They are delicious, both taste-wise and visually, and have a lot less sugar per serving, plus vitamins and fiber of the berries themselves.

HOW TO MAKE EASY BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Ingredients
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (if you have access to Costco, these are so good)
2 tablespoons sugar
Zest of one lemon (Meyer lemon is my favorite)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan, mix well, bring to simmer, stirring often.

Once the blueberries start popping, press them with a fork or potato masher until you like the consistency.
Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Store in refrigerator for one week.

Notes
You can add a bit of whey or kombucha to the cooled blueberry sauce, and leave it out at room temperature overnight before moving it to refrigerator. The taste doesn’t change at all, but I’d like to think that it becomes probiotic. I wouldn’t go much longer than 12 hours at room temperature, since berry sugars form alcohol pretty quickly when allowed to ferment.

Print Recipe

Easy Blueberry Sauce

Beautiful and healthier alternative to maple syrup to top pancakes and waffles.

Prep Time1 minute min

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time11 minutes mins

Course: Sauce

Servings: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 3 cups blueberries fresh or frozen (if you have access to Costco, these are so good)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Zest of one lemon Meyer lemon is my favorite
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice about 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan, mix well, bring to simmer, stirring often.
• Once the blueberries start popping, press them with a fork or potato masher until you like the consistency.
• Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
• Store in refrigerator for one week.

Notes

• You can add a bit of whey or kombucha to the cooled blueberry sauce, and leave it out at room temperature overnight before moving it to refrigerator.
• The taste doesn't change at all, but I'd like to think that it becomes somewhat probiotic. I wouldn't go much longer at room temperature than 12 hours, since berry sugars form alcohol pretty quickly when allowed to ferment.