Homemade blueberry cordial makes such a refreshing, summery drink. Dilute it to your liking with still or sparkling water or use in cocktails and mocktails for that lovely blueberry flavour. All you need is 4 simple ingredients and you're ready to go. Quick and easy to make too!
With absolute abundance of locally grown blueberries this year and after acquiring 10kg bucket of said fruit, I had to get creative.
There were bakes and smoothies galore, super easy blueberry jam and as we do love occasional refreshing fruity drink, I decided to go with this blueberry cordial as well.
The recipe is inspired by lovely Nancy Birtwhistle and her Summer Berry Cordial I caught on Instagram which evolved into my blueberry syrup concoction.
And as for the names...
Jump to:
🤔 Cordial, squash, juice or syrup?
How can something so simple be so complicated at the same time???
Feel free to call my blueberry cordial whatever you like as in essence it is a concentrated fruit juice that requires diluting with water to make a nice and refreshing drink.
You might also like to use it without diluting and drizzle over desserts, yogurt, pancakes etc. which would make it more of a syrup then 😉.
✔️ Why you will love this recipe
- Homemade, preservative free blueberry cordial.
- Lower sugar content than in shop bought cordials.
- Easy to adapt for other berries.
- Works with frozen berries as well which makes it all year round recipe.
- Sweet and delicious, perfect for diluting or using straight as a drizzle.
- Simple, no fuss recipe.
- Vegan and gluten free.
🛒 Ingredients to make blueberry cordial
Here's what you will need to make my Easy Blueberry Cordial aka Syrup:
Blueberries - Fresh or frozen will work. Any other berries or a mixture of different types will work as well.
Sugar - I used granulated sugar but caster (fine) sugar works just as well.
This recipe is super forgiving so you could sweeten your cordial with honey or maple syrup if you wanted to. Bear in mind this will change the flavour somewhat and you will also need fair bit of it so it won't be as budget friendly.
Also it would reduce its shelf-life quite considerably as sugar acts not just as sweetener but also preservative.
The option is there nevertheless.
Lemon Juice - Acidity to cut through all the sweetness and to enhance the flavour as well as natural preservative to extend shelf-life.
Water
👩🏻🍳 How to make blueberry cordial
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Wash and sort your fruit, discard any stalks etc.
Put blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and water in a large pan and give it all a good mix.
Step 2: Put the pan on a low-medium heat and simmer gently, stirring often until the sugar has dissolved.
Step 3: Using stick (immersion) blender, puree the mixture directly in the pan. You don't want the smooth puree but rather thick and lumpy one. You really can't go wrong here.
Step 4: Next, bring the mixture to rolling boil and boil for about 5 minutes.
Step 5: Strain the mixture using fine sieve (you can also line it with a muslin cloth), jelly straining bag (which is what I did), clean tea towel etc.
***Quick Tip*** If you like to keep your cordial clear, let the mixture strain on its own and without squeezing or prodding. If you're not fussed you can squeeze every single bit of it (that's what I did in the end once my patience run out) but expect it to be a bit cloudy.
Once strained, transfer to sterilised bottles.
Enjoy diluted with still or sparking water to your liking.
🥡 Storing blueberry cordial
Store: As long as you sterilise your bottles it should keep in the fridge for about 6 weeks or so.
Freeze: You can freeze blueberry cordial for up to 12 months. Freezing it in ice cube moulds will give you individually portioned cordial you can use straight out of the freezer.
You can also freeze it in a jar or any freezer safe container and defrost in the fridge or on the counter.
***Quick Tip*** When freezing liquids always allow some headroom for its expansion.
🍽 Equipment
The only piece of equipment required here is a stick (immersion) blender which you will need for pureeing your berry mixture. Having said that, you could always mash it up with potato masher if need be. It won't be quite the same but necessity is the mother of invention.
As far as pans go you can use any suitably sized pan to allow for the mixture to boil rapidly without boiling over.
For straining your cordial you can use a simple sieve (either on its own or lined with fine muslin cloth) or jelly straining kit ( which is what I did) or even clean kitchen towel.
You can then use any jars or bottles you like or have to hand to store your cordial in. I like these 1ltr Kilner swing top bottles.
💭 Pro tips
This cordial is very forgiving so you can adjust the amount of sugar or swap it for honey/maple syrup if you wanted to but it will affect its shelf-life so just bear that in mind.
Don't forget blueberry syrup is to be diluted so don't get too stressed about the amount of sugar in it in the first place. Enjoy it!
Feel free to swap blueberries for blackberries or use mixed frozen berries, you can experiment here and the results will be delicious.
If you're worried about the cordial spoiling before you can finish it you can halve the ingredients to make smaller batch. Also DO sterilise the bottles for peace of mind to prevent pesky bacteria spoiling your efforts.
If you are not too fussed about how clear your cordial is, you can speed up straining process considerably by squeezing the contents through the muslin, jelly bag or kitchen towel. I lost patience very quickly when using my jelly making kit (photos above), took the bag off the stand and squeezed the rest of the cordial out. Done!
Don't get rid of the pulp, I like it with yogurt and granola or as a spread on a hot buttered toast.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Super simple... Dilute it with sparkling or still water to your taste.
The ratio of cordial to water will differ depending on how sweet you like your cordial and how much sugar you've used (whether as per recipe or less perhaps). Find your own happy!
Garnish your drink with fresh mint, lemon, pop in some frozen blueberries instead of ice, just go for it.
Use it in cocktails or mocktails. It goes really nicely with some chilled Prosecco as a little bubbly treat.
***Quick Tip*** You can use undiluted syrup as a drizzle although as it hasn't been reduced it is not super thick. To make it thicker in consistency, you would need to reduce it in a pan on a low heat, stirring until nice, thick and syrupy.
❓ FAQ
I got just under 1.5 litre of cordial.
Sterilising the bottles will make the cordial last longer so you can definitely do it. I don't usually make cordial to store longer term as we drink it within a week or two and so I wash the bottles in plenty of hot soapy water and follow with a thorough hot water rinse which does the job as long as you use it within that shorter timeframe.
To answer your question though, yes you should really sterilise the bottles as it is a good practice which will protect your cordial from spoiling prematurely.
Simply wash them thoroughly in hot soapy water and rinse well. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F, put the bottles on top of clean baking tray and dry for 15 min. Depending on the size of your bottles you might need to rearrange shelving in your oven.
You will need to time sterilising right so that the hot bottles are ready for filling once cordial has been strained.
Have you tried my Blueberry Cordial (Blueberry Syrup)?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 More blueberry recipes
American Style Blueberry Scones
Jagodzianki (Polish Blueberry Buns)
Mary Berry's Blueberry Muffins
📋 Recipe
Blueberry Cordial (Blueberry Syrup)
Ingredients
- 1 kg blueberries fresh or frozen; see notes
- 500 g granulated or caster(fine) sugar see notes
- 120 ml lemon juice
- 600 ml water
Instructions
- Wash and sort your fruit, discard any stalks etc.Put blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and water in a large pan and give it all a good mix.1 kg blueberries, 500 g granulated or caster(fine) sugar, 120 ml lemon juice, 600 ml water
- Put the pan on a low-medium heat and simmer gently, stirring often until the sugar has dissolved.
- Using stick (immersion) blender, puree the mixture directly in the pan. You don't want the smooth puree but rather thick and lumpy one. You really can't go wrong here.
- Next, bring the mixture to rolling boil and boil for about 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture using fine sieve (you can also line it with a muslin cloth), jelly straining bag (which is what I did), clean tea towel etc.***Quick Tip*** If you like to keep your cordial clear, let the mixture strain on its own and without squeezing or prodding. If you're not fussed you can squeeze every single bit of it (that's what I did in the end once my patience run out) but expect it to be cloudy.Once strained, transfer to sterilised bottles. Enjoy diluted with still or sparking water to your liking.
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per entire amount (1.4ltr) of undiluted cordial and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Feel free to use different berries or a mixture of different types to make this cordial.
- See 🛒 Ingredients to make blueberry cordial for more information on possible substitutions.
- As long as you sterilise the bottles the cordial should last in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. It's also freezer friendly. For more information see 🥡 Storing blueberry cordial
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