Keeping a jar of simple syrup in your pantry may seem like a waste of space, but once you have it, you’ll reach for it more than you think. And sure, you can buy a bottle of prepared simple syrup for many dollars, but it’s sort of absurdly easy and inexpensive to make at home.
First, though—what is it?
Simple syrup is sugar dissolved in water. It makes a smooth (so, not grainy) sugar syrup that can be used for way more than cocktails.
To make simple syrup, you’ll need to set aside a whopping 3 minutes. Then combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepot. Heat it over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Cool it and store it, and bim bam boom, you have a very useful ingredient in your kitchen.
The beauty of simple syrup lies in its ability to sweeten cold liquids. Sugar will only dissolve (at least, quickly) in a hot liquid, so when added to cold liquids, it stays grainy and doesn’t distribute as well into the mixture. Simple syrup is pre-dissolved sugar, so you can add it to iced tea, fresh lemonade, iced coffee, or margaritas, of course. (And if you’re wondering: yes, most restaurants will bring you simple syrup for your iced tea or iced coffee if you ask for it.)
Simple syrup is great for more than drinks, though! In the bakeshops, we brush simple syrup onto cake layers before frosting to help keep them moist. We brush it on a finished pound cake and pastries for a little shine. And we use it to sweeten fruit purées for popsicles or no-cook sorbets.
You can also flavor your simple syrup! While the mixture is simmering, you can add spices like crushed cardamom pods or spicy chiles to infuse the mixture. Drop in lemon peel, herb springs, or a vanilla bean or two for a syrup that will make the perfect homemade vanilla latte. Once the mixture is cooled, you can pour in a few teaspoons of hazelnut liqueur to brush on a chocolate cake layer or even blend with a fruit purée, like peaches, to make a peach syrup for your front-porch iced tea.
This is something I would like to hand from time to time, but how should it be stored and how long will it last?
You can keep it in the fridge for about a month. If you don’t use it much but just want to have it handy, you can make a small batch, like 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar at a time.
For longer storage could the simple syrup be frozen in an ice cube tray and then thawed and used when needed?
You definitely could do that! The beauty of simple syrup, though, is that you can make it in as small a batch as you need, so if you find you aren’t using it all, you can half the batch.