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You are here: Home / Recipes and Cooking Tips / How to Make Simple Syrup

How to Make Simple Syrup

July 14, 2011 by Alea Milham 11 Comments

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Have you passed on making a recipe because it called for simple syrup and you didn’t feel like running to the specialty store and paying four – five bucks for a small bottle of sugar water? Well, pull out those recipes because you can make simple syrup yourself easily and inexpensively!

How to Make Simple Syrup

To make simple syrup, you need to use equal parts of sugar and water. I use unrefined sugar when I make simple syrup. If you use white sugar, your simple syrup will be clear, unless you make one of the colored variations listed at the bottom of the recipe.

How to make simple syrup - It is easy to make simple syrup or sugar syrup. It only takes 2 ingredients and 5 minutes using this simple syrup recipe.

Simple Syrup Recipe

Yield: 1 1/4 cup
Prep Time: 1 – 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Add water and sugar to a saucepan and cook over a medium flame until it reaches a boil. 2. Cook for 1 -2 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let sit to cool to room temperature.

Use simple syrup in a recipe or store it in a clean glass jar with a lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to a 6 months.

Simple Syrup Variations:

Add the zest of one orange.

Add the zest of one lemon.

Add 1 -2 tablespoons minced mint leaves.

Replace half of the water with rose water.

Replace the water with coffee.

You can strain the larger bits of zest or mint leaves through a sieve, but I like to leave them in.

Print

How to Make Simple Syrup

Course Beverage
Prep Time 1 minute minute
Cook Time 5 minutes minutes
Total Time 6 minutes minutes
Servings 1 1/4 cup
Author Alea

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Add water and sugar to a saucepan and cook over a medium flame until it reaches a boil. Cook for 1 -2 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let sit to cool to room temperature.
  • Use simple syrup in a recipe or store it in a clean glass jar with a lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to a 6 months.

 

Recipes that Use Simple Syrup:

Homemade Lemonade

Candied Flowers

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Kate Tho says

    June 27, 2013 at 11:09 am

    can i use brown sugar?

    Reply
  2. Josef Coons says

    July 21, 2011 at 9:51 am

    Great blog. Found the info very interesting thanks. Found your site through yahoo Good luck

    Reply
  3. Julia in West Des Moines, IA says

    July 19, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    We’ve done maple syrup like Grandma wrote above, Hi Grandma! and also use simple syrup as a base for our whole berry cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving time. Thanks for joining the Frugal Tuesday Tip. http://juliecache.com/2011/07/18/frugal-tuesday-tip-and-a-winner

    Reply
  4. Ramona Campbell says

    July 19, 2011 at 6:36 am

    We always made ours at home by doing the sugar & water. We put in a few drops of maple flavoring.
    Have always liked it. Grandma

    Reply
  5. Kimberly says

    July 19, 2011 at 5:04 am

    Great minds must think alike, I was going to write about this next week! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Annie Jones says

    July 15, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    I like using simple syrup to sweeten tea that is already cold (it dissolves better than granulated sugar) and also for making lemonade. It seems the lemonade stays fresh longer with a cooked syrup in it rather than plain sugar.

    Reply
  7. free2befrugal says

    July 15, 2011 at 11:22 am

    Hey I’m diabetic do you think this works with Splenda? I’d love to try making fresh lemonade or limeade!

    Great blog you have here!

    Reply
    • Alea says

      July 15, 2011 at 11:31 am

      I haven’t tried it, but I have heard that it works. Replace the sugar with the equivalent amount of splenda (I can’t remember if it is 1:1, but the box will tell you). You can also try halving the recipe to see if you like the results before you make a large batch.

      Reply
    • mub says

      April 24, 2012 at 7:23 am

      It does work but it doesn’t really have the same consistency as a real sugar syrup. I do find it to be a suitable replacement though =)

      Reply
  8. Kitchen Belleicious says

    July 15, 2011 at 6:40 am

    I love making simple syrup. Easiest way to add the most flavor to drinks. Your suggestions and tips are right on! Have a great weekend

    Reply
  9. April @ The 21st Century Housewife says

    July 15, 2011 at 6:40 am

    Alea, this is such an excellent post! I had no idea of the variations you could make on simple syrup, and I do think a lot of folks hesitate to make it because they think it is difficult. Thank you for sharing this!

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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