Syrup comes from the Arabic “sharab” and the Latin “syropus” which means beverage. Simple syrup refers to using equal parts of sugar and water by volume (1 to 1 parts).
Simple syrup is widely used in the cocktail industry as sweetener. It brings balance when it’s mixed with sour juices like lemon or lime juice in most of the 20th century style cocktails. It is easy to make at home and has plenty of uses in the kitchen. I will use it in cooking, cocktail mixing, as a coffee sweetener particularly for cold beverages.
You can easily infuse it with herbs or spices and give a kick to the flavor. You will find thousand of recipes online. Let’s start with the basic simple syrup before going down to spiced paths.
Shopping List (approximately 1 lt of syrup)
- 1lt water
- 1kg white sugar
And now what?
Bring the water to boil and reduce to medium heat. Add the sugar and stir until it is all dissolved. Keep boiling in medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until the mixture is all clear and has a syrup-like texture. Remove from heat and let it sit until it will reach room temperature. Then poor into a glass bottle preferably and keep in refrigerator for up to a month.
In case you want to start experimenting already with spices. You may add a stick of vanilla together with the sugar while it is still boiling. Cut slightly the vanilla stick so as to free the crystals and aroma Keep the vanilla stick in the syrup for days. You can wash the vanilla stick over fresh water and use again.
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