Ingredients
- 700 g wild blueberries
- 120 ml Quebec maple syrup
- 20 g cornstarch
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 120 g rolled oats
- 90 g flour
- 80 g cold butter, cubed
- 60 ml Quebec maple syrup (for topping)
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Method
- Preheat oven to 175°C.
- Toss blueberries with 120 ml syrup, cornstarch and zest; place in baking dish.
- Rub oats, flour, butter, 60 ml syrup, salt and cinnamon into coarse clumps.
- Scatter topping over fruit.
- Bake 35–40 min until bubbling and golden.
Conversion and rationale
Original sweetener (classic version): 100 g sugar in fruit + 80 g brown sugar in topping
Conversion used: Swap fruit sugar for 120 ml maple syrup and add 20 g cornstarch; replace brown sugar in crumble with 60 ml syrup, reducing butter slightly; bake at 175°C instead of 190°C.
Why Quebec maple syrup: The mineral depth of Quebec maple pairs naturally with wild blueberries, another boreal Quebec staple, cutting food miles and adding trace polyphenols.
General rule: 1 cup (250 ml) sugar ≈ 3/4 cup (180 ml) maple syrup; reduce liquids by 45–60 ml per cup of syrup and lower oven by 15 °C. Substitution calculator →