Sweeten Your Drinks With Homemade Simple Syrup (2024)

FAQs

What does simple syrup do for a drink? ›

Simple syrup is a liquid sweetener made by dissolving sugar in water. That's literally it. Simple syrup disperses sweetness evenly throughout beverages of any temperature, making it a key component of many iced drinks and co*cktails (like sparkling beet lemonade or a whiskey sour).

The Ratio for Simple Syrup

Traditional simple syrup is made from one part water to one part sugar (1:1).

Simple Syrup, also known as “sugar syrup” (and sometimes “sugary syrup”) is a syrup made from dissolving white granulated sugar into an equal amount of water. Yep, that's all! (I told you it was “simple”!) Simple Syrup is (by far) the most common sweetener used by bartenders for co*cktails.

This liquid substance has all the same sweetness of granulated sugar. Simple Syrup is the secret ingredient to the best cold homemade beverages, co*cktails, and other drink recipes.

Because it is a liquid sweetener, it is much easier to blend into cold beverages than regular sugar. But simple syrup is not just for drinking—it can also be used to sweeten foods, such as fruits and baked goods. It is usually drizzled over desserts or used as a glaze.

One teaspoon of granulated white sugar equals about 1.5 teaspoons of simple syrup. If your recipe calls for a teaspoon of simple syrup, you might want to drop in only about two-thirds of a teaspoon of the granulated variety. You can always add more sugar, but you can't take it back out.

(n.) There's a reason why this syrup is called "simple." It's a basic combination of sugar and water. Simple syrup offers an easy way to add sweetness to a co*cktail without having to dissolve granular sugar in the glass.

The five steps involved from start to finish are: (1) preparing for the season; (2) determining WHEN to tap; (3) identifying the trees to be tapped and tapping them, (4) collecting the sap and processing (boiling/evaporating) it; (5) filtering, grading and packing the syrup.

Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup is clear. This will take about five minutes.

Simple syrup (1:1 ratio of sugar to water) will only stay good for about a month. But rich simple syrup, made from a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water, will last about six months before becoming cloudy.

Do you keep simple syrup in the fridge? ›

Keep it cold.

Store the simple syrup in an airtight container, in the fridge, until ready to use. As mentioned above, basic simple syrup can stay fresh up to 4 weeks, however flavor simple syrups need to be used within a week or two.

When you cook a simple syrup, the heat kills some of the bacteria and other microbes naturally occurring in the syrup. Add the syrup to a mason jar before it cools and the hot liquid will kill microbes in the jar as well.

Fructose is the "sweetest" of all sugars (i.e. with the highest intensity of sweetness) and it is most abundant in fruits and honey. On the contrary, galactose, the other monosaccharide, has low sweet intensity and can rarely be found free in foods.

Fructose, or fruit sugar, occurs naturally in fruits, some root vegetables, cane sugar and honey and is the sweetest of the sugars. It is one of the components of sucrose or table sugar.

Honey is another good simple syrup substitute. Its flavor is slightly stronger than maple syrup, but it still works as a sub. Because the consistency of honey can be very thick, make it into honey syrup! Here's How to Make Honey Syrup, which you can use as a 1 for 1 replacement with simple syrup.

Simple syrup should be clear and easy to see through. Once the syrup has gone cloudy, that means it's starting to grow bacteria and mold. Consuming mold can make you very sick, so even if you think your syrup should still have a week left, it's better not to take the risk.

They're often marketed as 'natural', but are not superior to sugar. Like sugar, they have kilojoules (Calories) and so they must STILL be accounted for on weight-reduction and diabetic diets. Like sugar, they too can cause tooth decay.

At Starbucks, there are 2 simple syrups (liquid sweeteners). One is called classic syrup and the other is called cane sugar. They're both unflavored and they're used to sweeten hot and cold drinks.

So, it's generally ok substitute in simple syrup for raw sugar. Here's the conversion: 1 tablespoon white sugar equals about ¾ oz simple syrup.

Maple syrup is about as sweet as sugar, so you can replace it using an equal amount of syrup (e.g., for 1 cup of sugar, use 1 cup of maple syrup). Decrease the liquid by 3 to 4 tablespoons per 1 cup substitution.

How much simple syrup is one cube of sugar? ›

Assuming 1-to-1 simple syrup and a 4-gram sugar cube, approximately 8.57 grams of simple syrup equals 1 sugar cube plus 4.57 grams of water.

Syrup is a sweet liquid made by cooking sugar with water, and sometimes with fruit juice as well. ...

ˈsər-əp ˈsir-əp. : a thick sticky liquid consisting of a concentrated solution of sugar and water with or without the addition of a flavoring agent or medicinal substance. syrup of codeine. syrupy adjective. or sirupy.

Syrups derived from sucrose fall into three general types: liquid sucrose, invert syrups, and molasses.

1-Solution Method with Heat . 2- Agitation Method. 3-addition of a Medicated Liquid to Syrup. 4- Percolation Method.

Directions. Add water and sugar to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cool then store in an airtight container, in the fridge, up to 4 weeks.

What consistency is simple syrup? It is fairly thin and easy to pour (nowhere near as thick as maple syrup even). However, rich simple syrup will be thicker than the regular version. For a thicker syrup: you can bring the mixture to a boil and allow some of the water to evaporate.

Using a spoon:

Place some syrup in a spoon and let it drip away in the saucepan. When the syrup flows away easily, it means it is still watery and not ready. Continue boiling until the flow separates into drops. When a final drop remains hanging from the spoon, it means that the density is right and the syrup is ready.

If you're making your simple syrup, you may wonder how to store it. It's important to keep it in an airtight container and the refrigerator. It should keep for about a month. Adding additional ingredients will extend its shelf life to two to three weeks.

Why did my simple syrup turn brown? ›

It turns out that fructose and glucose get involved in these reactions more than the sucrose, which is more stable. As sap boils in the evaporator pan, fructose and glucose in the sap are pulled into "browning reactions" that yield a darker, more flavorful syrup.

Simple syrup shouldn't be kept a room temperature for long as it can go bad in as little as a week. The higher temperatures and airflow are always going to make things go bad faster.

Simple syrup crystallizes when enough of the sugar molecules stick to one another that they become insoluble in the water. In a syrup prepared with a high 2:1 ratio of sugar to water (often referred to as a rich syrup), the chance of sugar molecules clustering and crystallizing is high.

Homemade simple syrup should be stored in the refrigerator. When stored properly, it has a shelf life of up to one month.

Ever experience yellow simple syrup? That's a result of caramelizing the sugar. The longer you let it boil, the more likely it is to pick up a golden hue.

A hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in the syrup. When the sap reaches 66.9% sugar, it is then maple syrup. Maple syrup that is boiled too long will crystallize and maple syrup that isn't boiled long enough will spoil quickly and will be watery because the concentration of sugar in the syrup will be too low.

The simple syrup is supposed to have a hint of lavender. Not lavender with a hint of sugar. The most common mistake is that the water, sugar, and lavender are all added together at the beginning. This results in over boiling the flowers which makes the syrup bitter.

What are 3 examples of simple sugars? ›

simple carbohydrates (or simple sugars): including fructose, glucose, and lactose, which also are found in nutritious whole fruits.

Simple sugars are called monosaccharides; these are made up of single sugar molecules. The three main monosaccharides that we consume are fructose, galactose and glucose.

Fructose is the sweetest sugar amongst all the given sugars. An estimation of concentration of sugar revealed that if sucrose has a sweetness of one,glucose will be 0.74 and fructose may count up to 1.7.

Of common sugars, fructose is the sweetest, especially at low concentrations. Sugar concentrations above 0.2% are generally required to exhibit perceptible sweetness.

Glucose: Fruits and vegetables are natural sources of glucose. It's also commonly found in syrups, candy, honey, sports drinks, and desserts. Fructose: The primary natural dietary source of fructose is fruit, which is why fructose is commonly referred to as fruit sugar.

1. Agave. What it is: A syrup that comes from the same spiky plant as tequila. Pros: Agave has a neutral flavor and is touted for being low on the glycemic index (meaning it may not spike blood sugar as much as other sweeteners).

The syrup should last for three to four weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge. We recommend refrigerating it in a squeeze bottle or glass jar but found several writers during our research who don't think it's necessary to refrigerate it since raw honey doesn't need to be stored in the fridge.

Rich simple syrup adds more viscosity to co*cktails and has a few advantages over its 1:1 counterpart. First, less of it per drink is required to obtain the same level of sweetening. Second, with sugar being a preservative, it lasts a little longer in the refrigerator before it eventually turns mouldy.

Let cool, then pour into a glass jar and seal tightly with a lid. Simple syrup will keep, refrigerated, for about one month.

Should you stir when making simple syrup? ›

Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, which should be about two minutes. Avoid using boiling water to dissolve the sugar because too much water could evaporate and alter your desired sugar-to-water ratio.

Refrigerating simple syrup extends its shelf life and slows the future growth of bacteria. You can keep it at room temperature, but it will go bad much faster. If you plan use up it up within a few days, it can be stored at room temperature. Otherwise I highly recommend storing it in the fridge or freezer.

Maple syrup is one of the best natural sugar substitutes because it's an outstanding source of manganese and contains calcium, potassium and zinc. Rich with antioxidants, this all-natural sweetener helps neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative damage.

Yes, pure maple syrup is not only high in antioxidants, but every spoonful offers nutrients like riboflavin, zinc, magnesium, calcium and potassium. According to Helen Thomas of the New York State Maple Association, maple syrup has a higher concentration of minerals and antioxidants, yet fewer calories than honey.

For reference, each pump is equal to about one fluid ounce. The pumps increase with the sizes: a Tall gets three pumps, a Grande gets four, a Venti hot gets five, and a Venti iced gets six. (Where I worked didn't serve Trenta (30 oz.)

Da Vinci, Monin, and Torani are three of the best known syrup manufacturers, and Barista Pro Shop carries all three. These lines offer a variety of flavors and some sugar free as well.

Add a neutral spirit, like vodka, to bring your syrup's alcohol-by-volume (abv) up to about 15% to create a syrup that will last at least a few months. This equates to 5 fluid ounces, or a little more than ½ cup of alcohol, for one quart of syrup. Use more alcohol to extend the shelf life almost indefinitely.