I love making this savory Blueberry Ketchup recipe with fresh New England blueberries! It's the perfect, sweet-tangy topping for burgers, chicken, or hot dogs at your next barbecue.
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In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: A savory and sweet condiment born from an abundance of Vermont's berry-picking season! Traditional tomatoes are swapped out for juicy blueberries and a touch of real maple syrup. It's a uniquely New England way to add fruity depth to your favorite, savory meals.
- You'll love this part: I know you'll really love the sweet-spicy-tangy flavor that instantly upgrades a grilled burger or roast chicken. It's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser whether at backyard barbecues or at the supper table.
- How it's made: Sauté shallots, jalapeño, and garlic 'til tender, then simmer with fresh blueberries, vinegar, maple syrup, and spices until it's thick and saucy.
Jump to:
- The fleeting New England berry season
- What is blueberry ketchup?
- A tasty way to enjoy New England blueberries!
- Chilli Sauce
- Why you'll love this recipe
- Best Hot Dogs in the Burlington, Vermont area
- 🔪 How To Make Blueberry Ketchup
- Blueberry Ketchup FAQs
- Tips:
- Don't just take my word for it...
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
The fleeting New England berry season
It feels like a race against time when berry-picking season rolls around—not only to get those sweet gems picked but also to find ways to devour them. And this is absolutely the case with blueberry season in Vermont.
We're not the only ones who want them, after all. The shrubs and bushes of ripening berries are just as irresistible to birds, critters, bugs, deer... and of course, bears! (Just ask Sal and her mother!)
When we're swimming in baskets of fresh summer blueberries, I first pull out the tried and true recipes: blueberry muffins, blueberry coffee cake, and blueberry pie. My family and I snack on them from a bowl on the table, throw them into breakfast cereal, and toss them in a fruit salad.
At the same time, I try to think up some unique ways to put local blueberries to use. Past creations include a sweeeeet blueberry marshmallow milkshake and a blueberry icebox pie.
This year, however, it's a savory treat: Blueberry Ketchup.
What is blueberry ketchup?
Okay, that's a fair question—after all, most of us when we hear "ketchup" think of that thick, red, tomato-based stuff that people either love or hate. (For the record, I have always been and will always be a ketchup lover.)
According to The History Channel, spicy, salty condiments with the names "koe-cheup" or "ge-thcup" were first used in ancient China. Seafaring traders brought the idea for these fish sauce-based ketchups back to their own countries, adapting the recipes to use available ingredients and to suit their tastes.
While ingredients in these homemade ketchups varied, including foods like mushrooms, nuts, shellfish, and fruit, what they all had in common was that they were cooked down until concentrated, then preserved with lots of vinegar and salt. In the 1900s Henry Heinz began mass-producing his tomato-based ketchup recipe in the U.S., and his ketchup empire still reigns supreme today.
Blueberry ketchup is the same idea, but replaces the tomatoes with fresh blueberries and has extra flavor from aromatics and spices.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact beginning of blueberry ketchup history. However, with abundant blueberry crops throughout New England and especially in Maine, there's no doubt that people found clever ways to make use of the berries—not only in summertime desserts but also preserved as sauces and condiments that would last through the long winters.
A tasty way to enjoy New England blueberries!
In the summertime in Vermont and nowadays in Massachusetts, blueberry picking is one of my favorite things to do! U-pick farms across all six New England states have rows and rows of brimming blueberry shrubs to pick from July through August. Not to mention shrubs in backyards—they're a great addition to your landscape and can live as long as 50 years.
When heading out to pick (or pick up) your blueberries bring home as much as you can—that way you'll have them on hand for so many luscious recipes like this one! And you won't lose them to the hungry birds.
Wild blueberries—those tiny, flavor-packed beauties also known as low-bush blueberries can also be used in this recipe. And they just happen to be the state fruit of Maine.
Another favorite condiment!
Chilli Sauce
Try my family recipe for old-fashioned Chilli Sauce, made with plenty of tomatoes and peppers.
Why you'll love this recipe
Blueberries are tasty in sweet recipes, but they're also delicious in savory dishes like this ketchup. It includes sautéed aromatics along with a little diced jalapeño for heat, then it's blended with sugar, vinegar, and spices.
The result is a sweet-spicy-tangy-salty blueberry ketchup taste that traditional ketchup fans will love, and ketchup doubters will find surprisingly delightful.
Enjoy blueberry ketchup in the same ways you do regular ketchup: pair it with juicy burgers, or over hot dogs and sausages. I love to spread it over chicken drumsticks before baking, and over grilled chicken, too.
Use blueberry ketchup in place of grape jelly or cocktail sauce to make appetizer-sized meatballs.
Speaking of hot dogs...
Best Hot Dogs in the Burlington, Vermont area
The next time you visit the Queen City, check out these hot dog joints, the favorites of the locals!
🔪 How To Make Blueberry Ketchup
Ingredients:
- Blueberries: Use the freshest blueberries of the season! If you're buying them at the store, check them carefully for mold or shriveling.
- Shallots: One of the savory aromatics. Diced, sautéed shallots provide a mild onion flavor.
- Garlic: The other aromatic that gets a brief sauté, too.
- Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup for the best flavor; Vermont maple is my favorite but if you can't get it, buy some from a sugar house near you.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is the other sweetener in blueberry ketchup.
- Vinegar: To balance the natural sweetness of the ingredients I add a splash of white vinegar.
- Jalapeño: When diced and sautéed this pepper mellows just enough to give the ketchup a little chili pepper flavor and heat.
- Oil: Use a neutral vegetable oil to sauté the aromatics and chili pepper.
- Spices: The unique flavor of this ketchup comes from a blend of salt, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and black pepper.
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Sauté veggies
Finely dice the aromatics and hot pepper, then sauté them until soft.
Add the rest of the ingredients
Pour in the blueberries, sugar, maple syrup, and spices like coriander and cayenne pepper, and stir everything together.
Simmer until thick
Stir the ingredients over medium-low heat until the berries break down and the whole mixture is thick and fragrant.
Let it cool
Remove the pan from the heat and let the blueberry ketchup cool to room temperature. You can use it right away or spoon it into a jar to keep in the fridge for up to a month.
Blueberry Ketchup FAQs
Yes! Because this ketchup is fairly acidic from blueberries and vinegar in the mixture, it can be safely canned in mason jars using a water bath canning process. Closely follow canning guidelines like these from Ball to properly preserve the ketchup.
Although I prefer to make this ketchup with fresh berries, if you don't have access to any, it's just fine to substitute frozen berries.
Tips:
- This recipe, made with three cups of blueberries, yields about two cups total of Blueberry Ketchup. You can keep it all for yourself, of course, or make extra batches to share with your friends or to put up for winter.
- Blueberry Ketchup can be stored in the fridge for up to one month. You can also can the ketchup using mason jars and water bath processing.
Don't just take my word for it...
"Made this many times and it is fabulous. Everyone raves about it!" — Rick
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The recipe for Blueberry Ketchup is below, and here are more recipes to make with blueberries, too!
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Blueberry Ketchup
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Ingredients
- 2 medium shallots —peeled and finely diced. (Will yield ¾ cup diced shallots. Use 2 medium or 1½ large shallots)
- 1 small jalapeño pepper —seeds removed and finely diced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 3 cups fresh blueberries , washed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Vermont pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Sauté:
- Combine the 2 medium shallots and 1 small jalapeño pepper in a large saucepan with the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Sauté them over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they're tender.
- Stir in the 2 cloves garlic, finely diced, and sauté for one minute longer.
Add the rest of the ingredients:
- Stir in the 3 cups fresh blueberries, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup Vermont pure maple syrup, ¼ cup white vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
Cook:
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering, stirring the mixture occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes. The mixture should be thickened.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. You can use it this way, or spoon it into a sealed jar to keep in the fridge for up to one month.
- Makes about 2 cups of Blueberry Ketchup.
Notes
- This recipe, using three cups of blueberries, makes about two cups total of Blueberry Ketchup.
- You can keep it all for yourself, of course, or make extra batches to share with your friends, or to put up for winter.
- Blueberry Ketchup can be stored in the fridge for up to one month. You can also can the ketchup using mason jars and water bath processing.
Nutrition
Rick says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Made this many times and it is fabulous. Everyone raves about it.
Nancy Mock says
I am so happy you tried this recipe and especially happy that you enjoy it. Thank you so much for this review, Rick!