Recipe Review
Why you’ll love it: Learn how to make simple syrup for mixing your own fabulous cocktails and cold drinks! An essential ingredient for home mixologists and bakers, simple syrup is endlessly versatile and so easy to make.
How long it takes: 5 minutes, plus time to cool
Equipment you’ll need: small saucepan
Servings: makes 1 cup
Welcome to your ultimate guide to simple syrup! You’ll find that there are unlimited uses for this easy but essential ingredient. Don’t buy pricey bottles of flavored syrups. It’s so easy to make your own, adding your own special touch with herbs, spices, fruits, or other flavorings.
Why Make simple syrup?
It’s a key ingredient in cocktail recipes. Simple syrup is “liquified sugar”; it stirs in easily and won’t settle on the bottom of drinks undissolved, like sugar does, leaving your drink unsweetened. Infused or flavored simple syrups are used to add flavor to cocktails, cold beverages, hot beverages, and more. Plain simple syrup is an essential ingredient for an old-fashioned cocktail or other drinks including iced coffee.
Substitute flavored simple syrup for plain sweeteners. Add unique and interesting layers of flavor with simple syrup. Try flavored simple syrup in coffee drinks just like coffee shops. Stir a spoonful into your tea. Add it to your favorite vinaigrette. Put cinnamon infused simple syrup on your oatmeal, or add your favorite flavor to a smoothie.
A baker’s secret for cakes. Bakers use simple syrup to add flavor and preserve baked goods. Brush or drizzle simple syrup over cooled pound cake or cake layers before frosting to add flavor and preserve moistness. Try it on loaves of quick bread or muffins, too. It soaks in and won’t be visible but adds so much flavor and moisture. (Just be careful not to soak the cake/bread –a thin coating brushed on is perfect!) Try drizzling it lightly over pancakes or waffles instead of traditional maple syrup.
How To Make Simple Syrup
Making simple syrup is very simple. The ingredients are sugar and water combined in a ratio of 1:1, that is, equal portions of sugar and water.
Start with one cup of water and one cup of granulated sugar. Boil the two ingredients together until the sugar is completely dissolved, about five minutes.
It’s so easy! You’ll end up with approximately one cup of simple syrup.
How to make flavored simple syrups
Listed below are just a few easy ways to flavor simple syrup but this list is by no means exhaustive. Be creative! My mom loves this cracked black pepper simple syrup in her favorite drink, a Greyhound, turning it into a “Dalmatian”. Add a whole vanilla bean to make vanilla simple syrup, perfect for baked goods or coffee drinks (like this iced vanilla latte). Try a ginger cinnamon mixture like in this apple cider mocktail.
Citrus
Add 1 lemon, lime, or orange, sliced (leave peel on) to sugar and water. Perfect for tea, cakes, or drinks like the “Perfect” Margarita by Practically Homemade.
Ginger
Add six or seven quarter-inch rounds (slices) of fresh ginger root. Simmer and strain. Make refreshing ginger lemonade (by The Spruce Eats).
Herb
Add a half cup (or more, it’s up to you) of fresh mint leaves and simmer. Try watermelon lemonade.
Other possibilities: basil, lemon verbena, rosemary, eucalyptus, thyme, fresh bay leaves. You won’t need as much of the stronger flavored woody herbs.
Cinnamon
Simmer two cinnamon sticks for cinnamon infused simple syrup. Try it in cider, with apple brandy, stir it into coffee, or brush it on carrot cake muffins.
Jalapeño
Add one sliced jalapeño pepper (seeds and ribs are fine!) to the sugar and water, simmer, and strain. Make a (slightly) spicy jalapeño margarita (recipe by Love and Lemons).
How long does simple syrup last? Refrigerated simple syrup should last up to a month. Read these tips to make sure your simple syrup keeps well.
- Tip #1: Store the simple syrup in a clean jar, such as a canning jar with a lid or a recycled jar. I advise that you sterilize the jar first by filling it with boiling water and emptying it right before pouring in the simple syrup. Another option is to run jar through the dishwater on sterilize cycle.
- Tip #2: Add one tablespoon of vodka to the mixture to extend the shelf life to 3 months.
- Tip #3: Flavored syrups have a shorter shelf life than plain simple syrup.
- Tip #4: Increasing the ratio of sugar to water to 2 parts sugar to 1 part water will extend shelf life up to 6 months. With this 2:1 ratio, it is called “rich simple syrup.” Keep in mind, you won’t need to use as much since the syrup will be more potent.
How can you tell when simple syrup goes bad? If your simple syrup appears cloudy, has mold around the edges, or smells bad, discard it.
How to Make Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Optional add-ins (choose 1):
- 1 sliced jalapeño pepper
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- 6 to 7 slices (¼-inch thick) fresh ginger root
- 1 lemon, lime, or orange, sliced (leave peel on)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine water and sugar. Add optional flavoring ingredient. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Turn heat down, maintaining a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Allow mixture to cool, about one hour. Strain.
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover simple syrup in a tightly sealed glass jar in the fridge. It’s best to sterilize the jar first by filling it with boiling water, then dumping out the water. It should keep up to a month in the refrigerator. Toss it out if it appears cloudy, moldy, or different in any way.
- Possible flavor variations: 1 whole vanilla bean, cracked peppercorns, fresh herbs of your choice, whole spices such as cloves, cardamom, anise, etc. Be creative!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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