Except for alcohol, there may be no ingredient as integral to cocktails as simple syrup. Essentially just sugar water, its a central ingredient to countless recipes, and often acts as a neutral sweetening agent in everything from a classic Daiquiri to your morning coffee.
Simple syrup is used to allow sugar to be evenly mixed throughout a drink, particularly one served cold, by pre-dissolving the granulated sugar in water ahead of time to avoid clumping. Its also one of the easiest ingredients to make yourself—if you can boil water, you can make simple syrup.
At its most basic, simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of granulated sugar dissolved in an equal volume of water. From this template, an endless array of variations can be found.
In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from Arabic: شراب; sharāb, beverage, wine and Latin: sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals.
Common Simple Syrup Variations
While there are countless ways to customize simple syrup, these four variations are most likely found in cocktail recipes. The theory behind them remains the same though—a form of sugar dissolved in water in order to better integrate into cold drinks.
- Rich simple syrup: Common in many recipes where sweetness is needed without excessive dilution, rich simple syrup ups the ratio to two parts sugar dissolved in one part water. This adds more heft and a rounder mouthfeel to cocktails.
- Demerara syrup: The method to making this variation is similar to simple syrup, using a 1:1 ratio, but opts for golden-brown demerara sugar, often sold as Sugar In The Raw.
- Honey syrup: As anyone who has tried to stir raw honey into a cold or room-temperature drink knows, it tends to stick to containers and stubbornly refuses to dissolve. Honey syrup dissolves it in an equal amount of water to thin it out, and allow it to integrate into drinks.
- Agave syrup: Similar to honey syrup, this version follows the same template to thin raw agave nectar and is an integral component of classic drinks like a Tommys Margarita.
How to Make Simple Syrup | Patrón Tequila
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