Blueberry Sauce

Not too sweet… not too tart… In my opinion, that’s what makes a delicious blueberry sauce.

If you have been reading along…  you’re aware of the abundance of blueberries that I have by my front steps.  I've been picking a quart or more, just about every other day and I still have tons of berries still on the bushes.  My freezer is getting pretty full and I’m only at the halfway point.  I’m not complaining by any means.  I’m solely stating a fact, because I just found 3 cups of blueberries in my freezer from last year’s blueberry season (I’m not sure how that happened)?  Those berries needed to be moved to the front of the line and cooked up pronto to make room for the new harvest.  That’s when I decided to make blueberry sauce to serve atop vanilla cheesecake for our Sunday dinner.

This recipe has a well balanced flavor.  The orange juice is present but you could almost miss it if you were not paying attention.  Giving this blueberry sauce a hint of hummmmmmm.  

The other part that gives this sauce a solid oomph factor is the cup of berries that gets added in after the sauce is cooked.  The residual heat gently cooks the berries leaving an abundance of whole berries in the finished sauce.

Everyone has their own personal idea of what makes for a perfect blueberry sauce.  Some like it thicker and some like it sweeter.  So I thought I should mention that that’s the easy part.  You can make your blueberry sauce as sweet or as thick as you desire by adjusting the sugar and cornstarch. 

*A SIDE NOTE - This sauce gets better with time!  As it sits, it thickens more, without being too thick and the flavor of the blueberries really comes to life.  So if you have the time, make this earlier in the day or the night before to truly get the full flavor.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

4              cups       blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1              cup         orange juice

½             cup         sugar

½             cup         water

1              Tbsp.     cornstarch

½             tsp.        vanilla

Pinch                     cinnamon

Pinch                     salt

Place berries in a sauce pot with the orange juice and sugar; bring to a boil; let boil for about a minute.  Dissolve cornstarch in the water and stir into the boiling berries; stir until thickened.  Remove from stove and add vanilla, cinnamon and salt and the last cup of berries.  This sauce gets better with time!  As it sits it thickens and the flavor really comes to life.  So if you have the time, make this earlier in the day or the night before to truly get the full flavor.