Syrup – Copyright Coquere

You make it much cheaper than the ones you buy, and flavourings are only limited by the imagination

 

Syrup

Making your own syrup is incredibly easy. You make it much cheaper than the ones you buy. At the same time, you can adjust and change the sweetness, as well as additives exactly as you want your syrup. It is very easy to add lots of flavours completely tailored to your wishes. Flavourings are only limited by the imagination. Some taste examples are; vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, raspberry, strawberry and fruit. Grenadine is bought by many, but you can also make it yourself by using pomegranates. A little quirkier, you can for example add; rose petals, pine needles, thyme, etc. The possibilities are endless. Syrup is made in three varieties simple syrup, semi-rich and rich syrup. The easy explanation is that you vary the ratio between water and sugar by 1: 1 for simple, 1: 1 ½ for semi-rich and rich 1: 2. In the recipe below, I use a semi-rich variant, which gives approx. 3 dl finished syrup.

 

Ingredients

2 dl demerara sugar or regular white sugar
1 ½ dl water
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice or lemon essence (can be omitted
2 cl vodka (can be omitted)

 

Flavourings

1-2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Other flavouring as desired

 

Directions
  1. Add sugar and water in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. Do not let the syrup boil.
  2. Then pull the pan off the heat. Add salt and a little lemon juice. This is recommended regardless of what you may use it for. It gives the syrup more depth, and balances the sweetness. You will not taste either lemon or salt.
  3. Allow the syrup to cool, close to room temperature. If you want to store the syrup for several weeks, it is recommended to add 2 cl of vodka. This is only done for conservation reasons. You will not taste so little alcohol amount.
  4. If you want, you can when you pull the pot off the heat, add other flavours. If you add berries and fruit flavours, you should put these in a glass with an airtight lid. I.e., a mason jar. Put in and press the fruit and berries slightly with a ladle etc, to get out some berries or fruit juice. Pour over the syrup, and leave it cold in the fridge for at least 24 hours. The longer it is stored, the more flavour you get out. Then take it out and strain it several times until you have a clear syrup without remnants of berries, stones or pulp.

 

Served: For pancakes, in drinks, on desserts and in contexts you can use liquid sweetener.

Allergy: Gluten and lactose free. Low FODMAP

American pancakes with demerara syrup (Click on photos to go recipe for American pancakes) – Copyright Coquere


Cooking Science:

Lemon is a natural preservative, so when you have in lemon juice you achieve two things; you balance the sweetness, but also increase the shelf life. If you are going to store the syrup for 2-3 weeks, it will not be enough with as little lemon juice as in this recipe. If you add more, you get a very citrus taste to the syrup. It may not be desirable. Alcohol in the form of vodka also increases the shelf life, but without adding any flavour.

Boil, or do not boil, that is the question? Ordinary sugar consists of the bond between glucose and fructose. If you boil the sugar, you will dissolve the sugar in these two. Then you will get a syrup that tastes much sweeter, and which is much thinner in consistency. If you want this, by all means just boil the syrup.

Demerara sugar is a less refined sugar. It consists of 98% sugar, and the last 2% some minerals and some molasses. It is the molasses that gives the demerara sugar a light brown colour. This adds a little more flavour than regular white sugar.

 

Sugar science for the specially interested: Sugar science

Read more about demerara sugar: Demerara sugar

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