I can’t even remember where I was when I had this drink, but it had strawberry sugar rolled onto the rim of the glass and obviously that stuck with me. When I got to work on my latest biscuit of the month, I was looking for ways to turn up the blueberry-ness of it all just a bit. Using blueberry sugar in the biscuit dough just made sense. Here’s a post about how I made blueberry sugar and the things I learned along the way.
Your grocery list
Produce
- Blueberries
Baking and pantry items
- Granulated (white) sugar
Equipment/tools you’ll need
- Dehydrator – to remove all the moisture from the blueberries
- Spice grinder – to pulse the dried blueberries into small pieces
- Jar or airtight container – for storage
Step-by-step instructions for making blueberry sugar
Step 1: Prep the blueberries
- Wash, dry and pierce all of the blueberries with a fork. This will help the juice/moisture escape from the berries more efficiently.
Step 2: Dry the blueberries
- Spread the blueberries out in a single even layer in the dehydrator. It will take between 8-12 hours at 175ºF depending on the size of the berries.
- You can use an oven on its lowest setting, but you’ll have to keep an eye on the berries to make sure they are dehydrating instead of cooking down into a gummy mess.
Step 3: Grind dried blueberries and combine with sugar
- Once the blueberries are completely dried out, they will be simple to grind down into fine pieces.
- Use a spice blender or mortar and pestle to get the job done.
- Combine the dried blueberry powder with sugar. I usually stick with a 2:1 ratio (2 parts sugar, 1 part blueberry powder), but if you want an even stronger blueberry flavor, try a 1:1 ratio (the same amount of sugar and blueberry powder, mixed together).
Tips for making blueberry sugar
- There’s only one tip for this incredibly simple process – don’t forget to pierce the blueberries before attempting to dry them out. Learn from my mistakes. It took incredibly too long for me to realize the skins were working overtime to thwart all of my plans to dry out those blueberries. Pierce the berries.
How to store blueberry sugar
- Blueberry sugar should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Even after dehydrating the blueberries, you can’t be 100% sugar there is no moisture, and where there’s moisture, there’s the opportunity for bacteria to grow.
- I’ve had my batch for a month now, and it’s still going strong. Will keep you posted on the actual expiration date or when I run out, whichever happens first.
Ways to adjust blueberry sugar
- Instead of blueberries, try other fruits like strawberries – this was actually the original inspiration – mango or peach. If using citrus, use the peel instead of the inside of the fruit.
- Add a few red pepper flakes to the spice grinder for a sweet and spicy blueberry sugar.
Ways to use blueberry sugar
- Sprinkle it into your cornflakes.
- Use it to roll lemon sugar cookies in.
- Make blueberry biscuits with it.
- Coat the rim of the glass for your next cocktail.
Blueberry Sugar
Servings 12 servings
Calories 45kcal
Cost $7
Equipment
- Dehydrator
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup blueberries
- 2/3 cup sugar
Instructions
Dehydrating blueberries
- Wash and dry blueberries. Use a toothpick or fork to pierce a single hole in each berry. Use dehydrator as instructed. Timing will depend on the dehydrator being used.
Making blueberry sugar
- Combine fully dehydrated blueberries and sugar in a spice grinder. Pulse until no large pieces of the blueberries remain.
Nutrition
Calories: 45kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.03g | Fat: 0.05g | Saturated Fat: 0.001g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 0.2mg | Potassium: 3mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 0.4mg | Iron: 0.02mg
