Step 1

After washing the blueberries, put them into a medium sized sauce pan with the water and mash the berries with a potato smasher.

Step 2

Turn the stove on to medium high heat and bring the berries to a boil - keep smashing until they are all broken down.

Step 3

Once they come to a boil, turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Be sure to stir a few times.

Step 4

While the berries are simmering, zest the lemon in 2-3 large pieces and set aside.

Step 5

Then, juice the lemon and set aside.

Step 6

Place a fine mesh strainer or a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl.

Step 7

Remove the pan from the heat and pour the berry mixture through the strainer. Press as much of the liquid out of the berries as you can. You can discard the berry solids, compost them or use them for another purpose - you don't need them for the syrup.

Step 8

Put the strained blueberry juice, lemon peel and sugar back into your sauce pan.

Step 9

Bring these items to a boil, then allow it to simmer for around 10 minutes. The mixture should slightly thicken.

Step 10

Once it has slightly thickened, pour 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice into the mixture and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Step 11

Turn off the heat and remove the lemon zest slices. If you zest slices are too small to get with a utensil, you can strain the mixture again to remove them.

Step 12

This recipe makes just over one pint of blueberry syrup. Store your homemade blueberry syrup in sealed glass mason jars. It should last for about 3 months in the fridge, or longer in the freezer. You can also can it, although I haven't tried that yet.