Strawberry reduction is super easy to make. In a nutshell, you puree strawberries, add a little lemon, salt, and maybe some sugar, and reduce by half over low heat. I typically use it for my strawberry cake recipe, strawberry buttercream, or as a cake filling so I like mine to be a bit thicker.
Whats In This Blog Post
Whats The Difference Between A Puree and A Reduction?
Strawberry reduction and strawberry puree are not the same thing. A puree is just blended strawberries and is mostly water. For baking we typically need the strawberry flavor to be more intense.
To make your strawberry puree thicker, you're going to want to simmer it for a few minutes. Simmering the mixture reduces the amount of moisture that is in the puree allowing for a stronger strawberry flavor with less liquid.
The best thing about making a reduced strawberry puree is that it keeps all the flavor of the strawberries without adding extra moisture.
Strawberry Reduction Ingredients
I prefer to use frozen strawberries because frozen fruit is generally picked at the peak of freshness and then frozen. You get the most flavor in frozen strawberries.
If strawberries are in season though and you need to use them up, making puree is a great option. You can freeze leftover puree and defrost as you need it. If you're super talented and know how to can, you can make canned puree. This is definitely on my to-learn list.
When buying fresh strawberries, choose brightly colored, shiny berries that are dry, firm, and plump. They should still have fresh-looking green caps attached. Avoid soft, dull-looking, or shriveled berries. Since strawberries do not ripen after being picked, avoid berries that are partly white as that means they are unripe
How to make a strawberry reduction in 5 easy steps
- Defrost your strawberries or chop up your fresh strawberries.
- Blend your strawberries in a blender or give them a quick blend using an immersion blender.
- Add the blended strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, and salt and bring it all to a simmer on medium heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low so it's just barely bubbling and allow the mixture to reduce (40-60 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent burning. The reduction should look like tomato sauce, not watery.
- Let the strawberry reduction cool before using.
How to store the leftover strawberry reduction
You can store leftover strawberry reduction in the fridge for two days or you can freeze it up to 6 months. Fresh strawberries are very prone to mold so be sure to only leave cakes with fresh fruit fillings at room temperature for no more than 2 hours. Cakes with fresh fruit filling can be refrigerated for two days before consumption.
Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 32 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
- 2 oz sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Defrost strawberries if frozen or cut up strawberries if whole.
- Blend your strawberries.
- Place strawberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over med heat.
- Once bubbling, reduce the heat to medium-low and let slowly reduce until berries begin to break up and the liquid is almost gone. This can take between 40-60 minutes depending on how much liquid you have.
- Occasionally stir the mixture to prevent burning. Transfer to another container and let cool before use.
Lauren says
When using frozen strawberries, do you need to drain them after they defrost? I’m defrosting them in the freezer bags, and I’m not sure if I’m supposed to just blend the whole mixture or drain them and just use the berries. Thanks!
Liz Marek says
Don't drain them! The juice has lots of flavor, so blend the whole thing. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Anonymous says
hi, when I made this reduction the color was not the bright tomato sauce red you had and was more of a soft brown red. I used a lb of fresh strawberries and blended them as instructed, it was foamy and stayed foaming for a while. it didn't get the bright red color as yours. what did I did wrong? strawberries were in season
Liz Marek says
It could just be the type of strawberries you are using. Different strawberries will produce different results.
Les says
I want a seedless reduction. Where in the process should I strain the strawberries?
Liz Marek says
I would blend the strawberries ahead of time, strain, then cook them.
Natimk says
Marvelous!
S Cresswell says
Can this be used in a cheesecake recipe, to make a swirled strawberry cheesecake?
Elizabeth Marek says
Definitely!
Tiffany Mulligan says
How long should I blend my strawberries? I’m using a food processor.
Liz Marek says
Just a quick blend until smooth is all you need, since it cooks down afterward. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Pamelia K. Moore says
Used my blender to blend so berries were smoothie consistency. I wrote crush or mash berries for future reference. I did not watch the video but followed recipe. Will make again😋
Liz Marek says
So glad you'll make it again! Thanks for sharing your notes.
Soupcon says
I am curious as the difference in sugar added to the fruit puree in the metric recipe (16.65% by weight) and the imperial measure puree (6.25% by weight). Why the difference in sugar % between metric measure and imperial measure and yes I am measuring the sugar and the strawberries by weight in the imperial measure.
Liz Marek says
Great catch! The metric sugar was converted wrong. It's 57 g, which matches the 2 oz, and I've corrected it.
Aimee says
I have already made my puree without sugar or lemon or salt can I add it afterwards?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can
Michelle Kartes says
I am wanting to do a raspberry filling for a stacked cake. Can I just sub out the same amount of strawberries for raspberries and do everything else the same?
Liz Marek says
Yes, you can swap in the same amount of raspberries and make it the same way. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Sil says
Hi - I have a pot on the stove right now....2 things to verify. In the video, you mention lemon EXTRACT but the recipe says JUICE. Also, when converting the recipe to metric, 2oz of sugar becomes 170grams but the inter webs is telling me 57 grams...? Looking forward to the result!!!
Liz Marek says
Thanks for catching the metric sugar! It should be 57 g, and I've fixed it.
Lorrie Restall says
Do you keep the seeds in the purée or pas them through a sieve?
Liz Marek says
For seedless, blend the strawberries first, strain out the seeds, then cook the puree. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Teisha says
Is there a way to thicken it with out gelatin?
Liz Marek says
Just keep reducing it. The longer it simmers, the thicker it gets. It should look like tomato sauce, not watery. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Angela says
This recipe worked perfectly! Thank you so much.
Yeranig says
Hi Liz
i was wandering if I can add gelatin to the puree to prevent leaking since I want to use it as a roll cake filing ?? If yes , when I can add the gelatin for best result .
thank you
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you defitely can, you will have to bloom the gelatin in cold water first then add it to your warm puree at the end