Berry Coulis
What separates a coulis from jam is the ratio: a third of the sugar, so the fruit stays bright and tart rather than sweet. Frozen berries work just as well as fresh — they release their juice as they thaw, which often makes the sauce even more intense. The sieve is not optional; seeds wreck the texture more than you would expect.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 20 min
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 60 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Use 60 g of maple syrup instead of sugar for a darker, faintly caramel note.
Makes: about 350 ml — 10 dessert servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Combine
Put the berries, sugar and water in a heavy-based pan. Frozen fruit goes in straight from the freezer.
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Step 2: Bring up the heat
Over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer, pressing the berries against the pan now and then.
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Step 3: Simmer
Cook for 8–10 minutes until the fruit has collapsed entirely and the volume has reduced by roughly a quarter.
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Step 4: Blend
Off the heat, blitz until smooth — or simply crush it with a fork if you prefer a rougher, thicker sauce.
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Step 5: Pass through a sieve
Push everything through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon. The seeds and skins stay behind and the sauce turns velvety.
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Step 6: Sharpen it
Stir in the lemon juice and salt: the juice lifts colour and flavour, the salt takes away the flat sweetness.
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Step 7: Cool
Cool completely, about an hour. Cold coulis is noticeably thicker than hot, so do not reach for starch too early.
Tips & variations
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Tip
For a mirror finish on a cake, reduce it 5 minutes longer or whisk in 1 tsp of cornflour slaked in cold water.
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Variation
A sprig of thyme or basil simmered with the fruit and removed before sieving makes the sauce good with cheese too.
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Swap
Use 60 g of maple syrup instead of sugar for a darker, faintly caramel note.
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Storage
A week in the fridge, or three months frozen in ice cube trays.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 60 kcal | 600 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 10 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 14 g | 140 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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