A key to my recipe development, and the handcrafted food and desserts I offer for my work and at home, is making real flavor by way of fruit-based reductions and syrups. This is a process of simply cooking-down the juices and nectars of fresh fruit or berries, and pre-made fruit-based products like champagne, wine, and even balsamic vinegar.
Fruit-based liquid + sugar + heat = reduction or syrup.
Reductions take natural flavors and intensify them. Most of the time, flavors from fruit or fruit-based products get cooked-out or baked-out of recipes, or are literally too thin to pour or drizzle onto the finished product. Reducing them is my way to go.
I resist fake. I do not like synthetic flavors and I do not use them. Realness is my favorite. I want to be all about it, in my life and my food. I am a lover of intense flavorings and this is a tiny way I can make it come to life. When I bite into something that I make, I want there to be no confusion about what flavors I’m trying to highlight.
In my pursuit and appreciation for all things real, I make reductions all of the time. When there is a champagne-flavored cake on my baking-list for work, I will cook-down an entire bottle. There is simply no way to bake-in that flavor without the use of a prepared reduction. One of my favorite salads is topped with balsamic reduction.
Another reason I love reductions: they are another way that I work to not waste my food. Most of the time a reduction is made and used for a particular recipe. Other times, I make them because I don’t want to waste the juices or nectar I have on-hand that won’t be used. The process of making a reduction, creates not only an intensified natural-flavor, but the heat and the sugar, help preserve it, so that it can keep in your fridge for longer without spoiling. I both refrigerate and freeze reductions so that I can use them anytime.
fruit-based reductions and syrups
Ingredients
using prepared items (like fresh fruit juice, puree, wine/champagne, balsamic vinegar) to create a reduction or syrup
- 1 cup fruit-based products
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
starting with fresh fruit or berries to create a reduction or syrup
- 4 cups fresh fruit or berries- cleaned and cut
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
using prepared items (like fresh fruit juice, puree, wine/champagne, balsamic vinegar) to create a reduction or syrup
- At medium heat, in a pan, pour in the fruit-based product and sugar. For every one cup of liquid, add in 1/2 cup of sugar. As per the instructions above for making the liquid from fresh fruit, you'll heat at medium until bubbles. Once there are all-over bubbles, you can lower heat to low and simmer and stir.
- Remove from heat and pour into your food or onto your food for real, intense flavor.
starting with fresh fruit or berries to create a reduction or syrup
- In a pot or pan set to medium heat, place water, and pour in sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar.
- Place fruit. Here we are using peaches. Start your timer for 5-8 minutes, once there are simmering-bubbles on the side of the pan. You will cook the fruit depending on the fruit firmness you want. I tend to use this cooked fruit for cobbler, cakes, and fruit-fillings.
- Once you are done cooking the fruit, strain it so that the fruit and nectar/juice is separated.
- Stir the nectar. In a pan, at medium heat, pour the amount of nectar you'd like to make into a reduction/syrup. Allow the bubbles to start
- Once it is reaching the correct heat, there will be bubbles all over. At this point, lower the heat to low, simmer and stir.
- This process takes about five minutes. The nectar will be thicker and darker in color. It has reduced down. You have a reduction. Use a spoon to see the thickness. If you want it a little thicker, you can cook it a little longer.
- Your reduction / syrup will thicken more once it cools to room temperature. Keep it in glass containers in your refrigerator for two to three weeks, or freeze for up to six months. You can re-heat the stored syrup to get it back to drizzle or pouring texture.
Now if you have something that is already sweetened, like Cranberry Sauce, it is even easier to make a reduction, because most of the work is already done.
For cranberry reduction, strain the liquid from the cranberry sauce. Place it into a pan at medium heat. Once it starts to bubble at the edges, place a timer on for 10 minutes. Stir while it reduces. Once 10 minutes are up, remove from heat and allow to cool before drizzling on top of Cranberry Orange scones or your favorite desserts.
or blueberry pie filling.
