Sometimes, fruit starts to look sad. This is my recipe for what to do next.

You can use any kind of fruit you like, provided it’s puree-able. I recommend blueberries, raspberries and/or strawberries.

Chilled Berry Butter and Sauce

Ingredients and Tools

• Sad Fruit (1-4 pints)
• Lemon Juice
• Sugar
• Pectin and/or Gelatin
• Flavoring extracts (vanilla, orange, whatever)
• Fine mesh sieve, stove and saucepan, heatproof pitcher, spoon, two or more heatproof jars

Directions

1. Puree the fruit in a blender using a minimal amount of water.
2. Add fruit puree to sauce pan and cook on medium/medium-low heat until mixture begins to bubble, then turn down to the lowest heat at which you still see slight bubbling.
3. Add about 2T of sugar per cup of fruit puree, less if the fruit is real sweet.
4. Add a generous splash of lemon juice. This helps brighten up the flavor (since your fruit was kinda sad).
5. Add some flavoring extract. I like vanilla with blueberries and orange with strawberries. Listen to your heart, but add about 1/4 teaspoon. I just add one capful.
6. Stir everything well, and then add your thickening agent.
   • If using gelatin, add to water in a little cup first and let it ‘bloom’ for a minute before stirring it in (I add about 1/2 a packet)
   • If using pectin, sprinkle over the surface until you do an OK job of coating the easy to get to parts in a thin, opaque layer. This will make the sauce pleasantly thick.
7. Stir in your thickening agent well and let cook for a few minutes.
8. Pour mixture through mesh strainer and into heatproof pitcher. The mixture in the strainer will become your fruit butter, the mixture in the heatproof pitcher will become your sauce.
   • I do this in a few batches and both stir the ‘butter’ in the sieve so it drains faster and empty the ‘butter’ into another dish as I go.
9. If you wish, you can thicken your seed mixture with some additional gelatin. Bloom it first, measure with your heart. I used half a packet for about 6 ounces of butter and it was firm and delightful.
10. Chill sauce and butter.

That’s it! I like to serve the sauce over cake with berries and cream, or cheesecake, or ice cream. The butter I like to have on toast, or, if thickened with additional gelatin, as a dessert right out of the jar.