Making and Using Simple Syrups for Beverages

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Weedygarden

Weedygarden

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Do any of you make or use simple syrups?

Simple syrups were used for making lemonade and limeade before the frozen and bottle varieties became available. People still make homemade lemonade with simple syrups. I never have.

You can purchase commercially produced syrups for flavoring coffees, teas and other beverages. It is usually found in the coffee section of stores. Not all stores carry it.

There are many flavors available. I saw pistachio flavored syrup recently. For a period of time I used vanilla syrup in my coffee. I haven't had any for many years, but am on a quest to make some different flavors to use for French or Italian soda's this summer. When I was growing up, we have fake maple flavoring called mapleine that flavored the syrup and was used on pancakes, waffles and French toast. I have some.

My daughter makes lavender simple syrup and uses it to make sodas. The simple syrup is made with one part sugar, one part water, and heated until the sugar is dissolved. You can add things for flavor, such as lavender, and letting it sit for a while, typically until the syrup has cooled. Then the substance for flavoring is strained out. The syrup can be kept in a jar and stored for up to a month. I think commercially produced syrups last longer.

Sodas are made with a 1/4 cup of simple syrup, soda or unflavored fizzy water and 1/4 cup of cream, served cold. What is the difference between an Italian soda and a French soda? They are essentially the same drink. The Italian soda is made with club soda (or seltzer water), flavored syrup, and ice. When you add half and half to the Italian soda then it becomes a French soda or an Italian cream soda.

Simple syrups can be used to flavor the following:
  • Coffee
  • Lattes
  • Iced lattes
  • Chai
  • Oatmeal
  • Pancakes
  • Yogurt
I am on a quest to find recipes for different flavors and for ideas for using simple syrup.
 
I found this list of all of the flavors for Torani brand simple syrup. It would be interesting to see how many of these can be made at home.
Torani has simple syrup flavors sugar free as well.
 
 
Why drink soda's made with simple syrup and soda water? Because you can change up flavors, and lose all the chemical additives that most canned and bottled sodas have. I have never been a big soda drinker, but when I am hot in the summer, or after I've been hot and sweaty, soda seems to be the only thing that helps me recover. I am thinking that this will be an experiment for me, to make or even purchase some simple syrup and to keep soda water on hand. Daughter, who tends to be a bit of a snob, is a researcher and has told me that even the cheapest generic soda water is good to use. There is a machine that some people have for making soda water. I've seen them in a few homes that I've house sat in, but just never thought about wanting one.

I've had 3 sodas recently, two with cream, one without, all lavender flavored. Now I am on a quest to try other flavors.
 
I would like to try. My brother is brain injured, so it's up to me to keep him healthy. He's prone to kidney stones. Since I've been working hard to keep him hydrated he hasn't had any stones. He's not fond of drinking water, so I give him soda or juice midday to break up the monotony. Being able to make our own flavors would be a great help.
 
when i have good grape harvest i steam juice them and put in ball freezer cups therby making my own concentrates.


theres a book out there called drink the harvest thats filled with information of this very subject.i have it on my bookshelf.


https://www.amazon.com/Drink-Harvest-Making-Preserving-Juices/dp/1612121594

screenshot-www.amazon.com-2023.04.06-06_59_25.png
 
I haven't used maple syrup in decades but when I did I started with a simple syrup, Mapeline or pure maple flavour, and some butter. You needed to serve it warm if you put butter in it.
 
Caribou said:
I haven't used maple syrup in decades but when I did I started with a simple syrup, Mapeline or pure maple flavour, and some butter. You needed to serve it warm if you put butter in it.
Click to expand...
Yes, butter makes a big difference, and serving it warm does as well.

A friend of mine made her own maple syrup, but instead of using one part water and one part white sugar, she also used one part brown sugar. It made it a thicker consistency.
 
The only other thing I use simple syrup for is to feed bees or hummingbirds.

If you wanted to add a pure extract to your simple syrup that could give you many flavours to choose from. Here is a link to the Watkins site.
https://www.watkins1868.com/extract-flavors/extracts-flavors/pure-extracts?show=48
I like Penzey's spices but they only have a handful of extracts.
https://www.penzeys.com/search/?q=extracts
I've bought from both of these companies. I'm sure there are others but I have no experience with them.
 
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Caribou said:
The only other thing I use simple syrup for is to feed bees or hummingbirds.

If you wanted to add a pure extract to your simple syrup that could give you many flavours to choose from. Here is a link to the Watkins site.
https://www.watkins1868.com/extract-flavors/extracts-flavors/pure-extracts?show=48
I like Penzey's spices but they only have a handful of extracts.
https://www.penzeys.com/search/?q=extracts
I've bought from both of these companies. I'm sure there are others but I have no experience with them.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I am definitely on this topic! Watkins has so many extracts. Like the syrups, I am going to try to make a bunch of these.
 
I made my first batch of lavender simple syrup today. The flavor is good. I ordered dried lavender and it arrived last night. I will say that straining out the dried pieces was a challenge. I also found a bottle at a restaurant supply store with an airlock top, similar to the bottles I used when I was making kombucha. I was going to use a canning jar but I know it would make a mess every time I used it.

I see two different recipes for making simple syrup. One calls for equal amounts of sugar and water, the other for two parts sugar to one part water. I doubled the sugar today. I have learned that I need to stir the syrup, soda water and cream together. They tend to separate out in the glass, syrup on the bottom, water in the middle and cream floats on top.
 
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15-MINUTE HOMEMADE ROOT BEER​

INGREDIENTS​

  • 4 quarts cold water
  • 2-3 cups granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want it; 2 cups is perfect for us)
  • 3 tablespoons root beer extract (see note)
  • 1-2 pounds food-grade dry ice broken into pieces (use the smaller amount if you want it to dissolve quickly and the greater amount if you want it to foam and bubble while serving)

INSTRUCTIONS​

  • In a large pitcher (I use glass), stir together the water, sugar and root beer extract until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Take a little taste to see if you need more extract or sugar.
  • In a well-ventilated area, carefully add the dry ice to the pitcher using insulated gloves or tongs and stir with a long-handled spoon so that the dry ice doesn’t stick to the bottom and sides of the container. The root beer will bubble and the dry ice fog will spill from the container (cool!).
  • Continue stirring until it is mostly melted, 10-15 minutes.
  • Ladle into cups, avoiding any large pieces of unmelted dry ice, and serve.
  • 15-Minute Homemade Root Beer
 

https://www.livingonadime.com/fresh-homemade-lemonade-recipe/print/45508/#respond​

Easy Homemade Lemonade Recipe​

  • Author: Jill Cooper

Ingredients​

UNITS USM
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (more or less)
1 cup lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
Dash of salt
4–5 cups water

Instructions​

  1. Mix the 1 cup of water and sugar in a pan.
  2. Heat until sugar dissolves. This makes a simple syrup.
  3. Cool. (This syrup will keep in the fridge for a long time.)
  4. Mix the rest of the ingredients into the simple syrup to make the lemonade.
  5. Chill.

Notes​

  • To make the recipe even more quick and easy to prepare, you can skip making the simple syrup. Mix everything together and let it sit overnight or for a few hours and the sugar will dissolve without having to make the simple syrup.
Find it online: Homemade Lemonade Recipe - Quick, Easy And Delicious!
 
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