When I was growing up, IHOP was my favorite diner chain to visit. It had nothing to do with the fluffiness of the silver dollar pancakes or the height of the whipped cream spiral on a mug of hot chocolate. Instead, I loved IHOP for its syrup caddy. While other breakfast chains provide a singular sticky cup of pancake syrup, IHOP offers four different syrups to choose from: old-fashioned, butter pecan, strawberry, and my personal favorite, blueberry.
Blueberry syrup felt like the ultimate luxury to me as a kid. I’d pour it all over my waffles and watch the translucent purple glaze sink into the nook and crannies, or drizzle it over the mountain of whipped cream on my pancakes. While pancake syrup was one-note and for babies, blueberry syrup was refined.
Of course, in my adulthood, I learned that all the syrups at IHOP were some variation of corn syrup and xanthan gum (the blueberry version also has blueberry puree mixed in). The great thing about being an adult, however, is being able to buy your own blueberry syrup — especially one with better ingredients.
There are lots of blueberry syrups on the market but my favorite is Blackberry Patch’s premium blueberry syrup. It’s made with only three ingredients — blueberries, cane sugar, and lemon juice — and has an even punchier, more ripe, blueberry flavor than the IHOP version I grew up on.
At IHOP and elsewhere, I’ve yet to find a griddled breakfast sweet that isn’t improved by the addition of a drizzle of this blueberry syrup. I’ve poured it over French toast, pancakes, and crepes. I’ve drizzled it over puffy Dutch babies, which feels especially fancy and warranted once summer ends and I can’t get my hands on good berries. It even improves gritty, frozen protein waffles — something I thought was impossible to do.
But the syrup isn’t just for breakfast. I love adding a teaspoon to my morning matcha latte to make a blueberry matcha, or shaking it with gin and lemon juice and topping it with club soda, like an extremely refreshing berry version of a Tom Collins (you can also just nix the gin and make a blueberry lemonade). A scoop of vanilla ice cream also benefits from a sprinkle of blueberry syrup, especially if you add crushed graham crackers and make a blueberry pie version of a sundae.
I have IHOP to thank for introducing me to the wonders of blueberry syrup, and Blackberry Patch for keeping my infatuation going. That feeling of luxury it gave me as a kid still remains, and I’ve loved finding new uses for it beyond pancakes. If you, too, want to make your pantry feel a bit fancier, consider getting yourself a bottle.
