For regular readers, this will post will probably give you a sense of déjà vu. Slow cooker blueberry lavender butter? Didn’t I post that last week? Why yes, yes I did. But this week, in answer to several people who wondered if it could be done with frozen blueberries, I have your answer: YES it can!
I started out with mostly thawed (I left them in the fridge overnight) frozen blueberries. I only had about 3.5 cups in my freezer, so that’s what I used. I scaled down the recipe but it’s basically the same as with fresh berries. The texture is slightly grainy compared to the batch made with fresh berries, and the color is darker, but the flavor is the same.
Even more exciting, I have big plans for this batch (beyond eating it on toast and straight out of the jar like the last batch). It will be incorporated into a cute dessert soon…stay tuned!
Recipe:
Slow Cooker Blueberry Lavender Butter (with frozen blueberries – see this recipe for Slow Cooker Blueberry Lavender Butter with fresh berries)
- Frozen blueberries, thawed overnight in fridge and then pureed
- Sugar to taste (around 1 cup for every 4 cups of blueberry puree)
- 1 T dried lavender buds
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 bouquet garni bag (like these or use cheesecloth and twine to make your own)
Place pureed blueberries in slow cooker and turn to low. Fill bouquet garni bag with lavender and tie shut. After 1 hour stir blueberry puree and add bag of lavender, lemon zest and sugar. Prop open lid with a spatula or wooden spoon and continue cooking on low, stirring occasionally. Cook for 3-5 more hours, until desired consistency is reached. Remove bouquet garni bag of lavender and discard. Place fruit butter in food processor or blender and process to desired consistency. Pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space, wipe rims and screw on lids. Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Store jars in cool, dark place.*
*If you’re intimidated by canning or plan to use the fruit butter right away, store in an air-tight container in fridge.
Ann
June 27, 2011 at 3:19 pm (13 years ago)I have to say…I think I like the color best wih the frozen blueberries.
Stephanie
June 27, 2011 at 9:14 pm (13 years ago)@Ann – me too!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
June 28, 2011 at 8:18 am (13 years ago)Way to do thorough research for your readers!!
Stephanie
June 29, 2011 at 8:43 am (13 years ago)@Erin – I love my readers! 🙂
Lindsey@Lindselicious
June 28, 2011 at 5:41 pm (13 years ago)Cool- I was wondering if it could be made with frozen blueberries too! I wish I was brave enough to start canning- it so interest me. I just dont want to do it wrong and have things spoil!
Stephanie
June 29, 2011 at 8:45 am (13 years ago)@Lindsey – now we can make it year round!
Canning used to intimidate me too. Just do a little research online or get a book and try it out. I’ve only done it a handful of times now but it gets easier each time. I like to sanitize my jars by baking them in the oven so I don’t have to deal with lots of boiling water twice. Then you just fill them, wipe the rim, put on the top and put in boiling water for 10 mins. Not that hard, I swear!
Mika
June 28, 2011 at 8:10 pm (13 years ago)This may be kind of a dumb question- but I am assuming that you take the garni bag of lavender out at some point? Thanks 🙂
Stephanie
June 28, 2011 at 10:49 pm (13 years ago)@Mika- no, that’s a great question! Yes, remove and discard the bag after the cooking is done, before pureeing the blueberry butter. I’ll edit the recipe. Thanks!
Roxana GreenGirl
June 28, 2011 at 8:56 pm (13 years ago)Few weeks ago I got a jar of Blueberry butter form the Farmer;s Market. Had no idea how to make it at home. Thanks for sharing the recipe Stephanie. Can’t wait to make my own from now on!
Stephanie
June 29, 2011 at 8:46 am (13 years ago)@Roxana – awesome! It’s fun to try to recreate yummy foods from the farmer’s market (or anywhere else). I’m actually going to use this blueberry butter to recreate a dessert I had a at a restaurant recently.
Celia
June 29, 2011 at 4:40 am (13 years ago)Love the recipe re-testing! What I don’t love: the fact that, just last week, I passed up a free slow cooker from friends moving house…and thus have to wait to make this delicious-looking spread. Sadness.
Stephanie
June 29, 2011 at 8:51 am (13 years ago)@Celia – oh no! I often see slow cookers at thrift stores, so you should try that for a good deal (also, a friend of mine got a really cheap one at a drug store of all places). Some people actually prefer the older models you can find second-hand too, because they have a wider ranger of cooking temps I think.
Stacy
June 29, 2011 at 7:36 pm (13 years ago)This looks amazing and I’m thrilled it’s successful with frozen blueberries. But now I, too, have what I feel is a kinda’ a dumb question. So often I have seen recipes that use dried lavender flowers. However, this recipes just indicates it’s the lavender – as in the leaves (or whatever one calls the green part of a lavender bush)? Am I catching that right?
Thanks! I’m very excited to give this a try!
Stephanie
June 29, 2011 at 7:43 pm (13 years ago)@Stacy – no question is dumb! You should definitely ask for clarification around recipes especially. This is calling for dried lavender flowers, not the leaves. I’ll update the recipe to specify. Thanks for asking!
Magic of Spice
July 8, 2011 at 12:02 pm (13 years ago)This is such a lovely idea and I am just crazy about lavender and blueberries both 🙂
Stephanie
July 9, 2011 at 10:03 am (13 years ago)@Magic of Spice – thanks. Me too and the flavors go great together!
jacksonleegirl
July 9, 2011 at 2:49 pm (13 years ago)I’m in the process of making this recipe AS WE SPEAK 🙂 My question is:
My mother makes blackberry jelly without pressure cooking at the end. She pours the boiling syrup into hot jars and has the lids in a pot of boiling water beside her. When she puts the lids on, the heat automatically vacuum seals the lids. I am hoping to be able to use this method w this recipe. Any thoughts? My main concern is the mixture won’t be hot enough if I puree it the second time and then try to jar it up after that…
jacksonleegirl
July 9, 2011 at 5:25 pm (13 years ago)nevermind… I read how to water boil in a stockpot w a tea towel in the bottom. I’ll do that. 🙂
Stephanie
July 9, 2011 at 8:27 pm (13 years ago)@jacksonleegirl – Sorry I wasn’t able to answer your question in time. Glad you figured it out. Let me know how it turns out!
jacksonleegirl
July 10, 2011 at 5:06 am (13 years ago)Each jar turned out PERFECT! I canned 12, 4 oz. jars and had enough leftover to stick in the fridge and enjoy on my fresh-out-of-the-crockpot yogurt this morning. SOOOOOO WONDERFUL. My 5 & 2 yr old daughters & myself picked a little over 4 lbs of blueberries at a local vineyard earlier this week. I didn’t know what to do w all those berries, and I didn’t want to just throw them in the freezer. I am THRILLED I found this recipe!
I have a big stock pot w a spaghetti strainer insert. It was PERFECT! It fit 7, 4 oz. jars. Then I just folded up a tea towel to put in the middle of the remaining 5 so they wouldn’t slide around. As of last night before bed, 10 had sealed. When I got up this morning, the last 2 were done. Thank you soooo much 🙂
Stephanie
July 10, 2011 at 8:21 am (13 years ago)@jacksonleegirl – that’s great! I’m so happy you love the blueberry lavender butter! You’re welcome and thank you for coming back and telling me about your experience!
Stacy
July 14, 2011 at 4:51 pm (13 years ago)I made this today and yum! I was on vacation last week and naturally my lavender bloomed and was spent by the time I returned. But, my local grocer carries lavender blossoms in their organic section (yeah!). This has such a nice depth of flavor. I can’t wait to smear it on scones or even toast. Thank you, again!
Stephanie
July 15, 2011 at 6:26 pm (13 years ago)@Stacy – I’m so glad you like the recipe! Thanks for coming back to tell me. Enjoy!
Carissa
August 2, 2011 at 11:09 am (13 years ago)Do you have thoughts on using fresh lavender with this? I have fresh lavender in the garden now. Not sure if I could use that or if I should dry it first?
Stephanie
August 2, 2011 at 12:27 pm (13 years ago)@Carissa – I’ve never cooked with fresh lavender before so I’m not much help with your question. I think it would work but I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Cindy
July 5, 2014 at 11:27 am (10 years ago)I might be missing something here, but why would you puree the berries first, if you are basically doing the same again at the end? Couldn’t you just cook them in the slow cooker without the mess of pureeing? They’ll get soft and mash down as they cook, anyway, won’t they? I’m not a chef, but this seems like it would be simpler.