Pickled Blueberries

Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min
Pickled Blueberries

Pickled Blueberries

Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min

About this Recipe

Fruity, sweet-and-sour pickled blueberries are a burst of brightness, meant for snacking or for adding to salads or cheese plates. The pickling brine is infused with fennel and lemon verbena — herbal, floral, citrusy, and fresh.

The Benefits

If you’re looking for antioxidants, reach for blueberries. They help shield your cells from damage. Antioxidants can also help keep your heart healthy, particularly for people with elevated cholesterol levels.

Ingredients

1/2 pint Yield
  • 3/4 cup (about 85 g) blueberries
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) white wine or rice vinegar
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) water
  • 2 Tbsp (30 g) sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 to 5 lemon verbena leaves, fresh or dried

Directions

  1. Step 1
    Put the blueberries in a sterile glass jar and set aside.
  2. Step 2
    In a small saucepan, toast the fennel seeds, stirring constantly, over medium heat until they are fragrant, 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the fennel seeds to the jar.
  3. Step 3
    In a saucepan, add the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt, and increase the heat to medium-high. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar and salt dissolve, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and drop in the verbena leaves. Let steep for 5 minutes.
  4. Step 4
    Strain the liquid over the blueberries and let cool. Use the pickled blueberries immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 weeks.

Photo by Jeni Afuso