Blueberry Pancake Syrup

I've made this blueberry syrup several times, but I bet it would work well for raspberries. It's worth a try!

• Ready In: 1 hr 26 mins
• Yields: 2 pints

Ingredients

• 4  cups blueberries, stemmed, rinsed and drained
• 3  cups water
• 2  strips lemons, rind of
• 3  cups sugar
•  lemon juice

Directions

1. Pour the blueberries into a saucepan and crush them with a potato masher or a wooden spoon until most of the skins are broken.
2. Add 1 cup of water and strips of lemon peel and bring to a simmer.
3. Turn heat down to low and cook the berries for 5 minutes at just under a simmer.
4. Pour the hot berries into a strainer lined with two layers of cheesecloth and let the blueberry juice drip through.
5. Twist the cloth to extract all the juice; there should be about 2 cups.
6. Discard the berry pulp.
7. Combine the remaining 2 cups water with the sugar in a small saucepan.
8. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear.
9. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, then boil the syrup, without stirring, until it reaches 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.
10. Add the blueberry syrup to the sugar syrup and bring the mixture to boil.
11. Boil for 1 minute. Let the syrup cool, then add lemon juice to taste. Pour the syrup into two pint jars and refrigerate if you plan to use it in a month or two.
12. To can (for indefinite storage) Pour into canning jars with 1/2 inch headspace. Process in hot water bath for 30 minutes.
13. Cool.