It’s been two years since I developed the recipe I’m about to share; I stored it away on my computer and forgot about it. Now, at the height of production for my Heaven Can Wait blackberries, I had to hunt the recipe down. This is what I should do with the blackberries I keep picking after the freezer is stuffed with the fruit!
The recipe is inspired, believe it or not, by Swedish hotel food. Always available at Swedish hotel breakfasts is yogurt in multiple varieties (higher- and lower-fat, mild and more sour), and near the yogurt is some sort of fruit compote. The compote can be simply fruit in a light syrup, or the syrup can be thickened a bit with starch. When I visited my daughter in Uppsala two years ago, I especially liked the blackberry compote at Hotel Svava. The berries were nearly whole and lightly sweetened, so they almost seemed fresh, although blackberry season hadn’t yet begun. The berries’ juices were slightly thickened. Spooned over yogurt, the compote was a delightful way to start the morning.
In considering how I could can such a product, I thought of ClearJel, a reheatable modified cornstarch that many people use for pie fillings (if you can’t find ClearJel locally, you can order it through the Internet). I could modify the basic ClearJel pie-filling recipe to make a less sweet, less starchy compote.
Although this recipe is for a single quart jar, the method allows you to preserve a lot of fruit really quickly. Make one quart immediately after another, if you like, and process the jars together. You can substitute other berries for blackberries or use a combination of fruits, as Swedes often do.
If you don’t want to can your compote but prefer to store it in the refrigerator, substitute regular cornstarch for the ClearJel. After adding the berries to the cornstarch paste, cook them over medium heat, stirring gently, until they are heated through. Serve them hot or cold.
Swedish Blackberry Compote
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons regular (not instant) ClearJel*
½ cup water
1 slightly heaping quart blackberries
In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and ClearJel. Add the water, and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. It will clump at first but will quickly turn clear and smooth. Boil the mixture for one minute, while stirring, and then fold in the berries. Remove the pan from the heat.
Pack the mixture into a quart mason jar. The berries won’t quite fill the jar, but that’s okay; you want at least 1 ½ inches headspace. Add a lid and ring, and process the jar in a boiling-water bath or steam juicer for 30 minutes (or 35 minutes, at more than 1,000 feet in elevation, or 40 minutes, at more than 3,000 feet).
Makes 1 quart