Friends, I have a confession to make. Before last night, I had *never* made that Simple Sugar Syrup we've probably all enjoyed in a glass of iced tea in a tearoom at one time or another. Why hadn't I? I thought it would be too hard to make. Ha! Make that double ha! You bring to a boil equal amounts of water and granulated sugar (3/4 cup, in this case), stir it, and that's it! Why, I've had a harder time boiling eggs than making this Simple Sugar Syrup!
Here's what prompted me to give it a whirl.
Actually, it wasn't the cover of the August issue of Cooking Light but this article inside that provided the inspiration. (My husband's niece, BTW, is one of the editors of this lovely magazine but didn't write this particular piece.)
The only other ingredient I needed was a peach. Because the peaches that are peach-colored were not very ripe, I opted for a white peach. I didn't take note of the variety, and was a little bummed I had to get a non-peachy peach, but trust me on this, it was delicious! I diced the peach and placed the pieces in a bowl ...
before adding the hot syrup. Here's a link to the very simple instructions from Cooking Light.
And here's my finished Simple Syrup, peach flavored. I enjoyed some with a glass of Red Rose Iced Tea, and wow, was it ever good. (If I'd had some vanilla ice cream, the strained peaches would have been a great dessert topping, too.) So now I want to try the recipes for Lavender Syrup and Cucumber-Ginger Syrup. If I'd known these syrups were so easy, I'd have been making them long before now!
I think that I made some a long while ago for something other than tea (maybe lemonade). The peach infused syrup sounds good - much nicer than plain.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to take your favorite black tea and add lots of flavor. Cucumber-ginger sounds like a yummy combination (good with green too).
lovely! thanks for sharing these easy recipes! i agree, with my surplus of gifted cucumbers, i must try the cucumber and ginger one! good idea for using it with the green tea partea! big herbal hugs to all :)
ReplyDeleteI too have never made the simple syrup, but I saw it in the grocery store awhile back, and I thought - the profit rate on that must be good! But infused syrup... I might have stooped to buying that. Thanks! Now I won't!
ReplyDeleteNeither have I! But it sounds like sweet fun! ;-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great little recipe that could have many uses and combinations. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1. Just how much of this syrup does one usually add to say, 8 ounces of tea?
2. 3/4 cup of water...sugar...if all is not used at one sitting, discard? Date, refrigerate, and for how long?
3. Noticed that you chose NOT to mash, and I guess that is why you did not have to discard? Or am I mistaken and you would use the mash on the ice cream?
Gwendol:
ReplyDelete1) 1 tablespoon per serving, according to Cooking Light (one tablespoon flavored my whole glass of iced tea just fine, and it's larger than 8 ounces)
2) I have no idea how long this will keep but intend to drink it all before it becomes an issue!
3) Oh, but I DID mash! Maybe you can't tell it from the liquid surrounding those peaches, but I did mash them with a fork. They just weren't mashed to the point of a puree!
Yum! That looks fabulous. Didn't know about your Cooking Light connection. Do they need freelancers? :) Where did you find your peaches?
ReplyDeleteFunny! Here in the north we rarely sweeten ice tea, but with the peaches I might have to make an exception. Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, the peaches are from Publix (on Lower Fayetteville if that matters).
ReplyDeleteMy sister, Karen B., loves the sweet tea she gets when she comes to Florida. Now she can make her own thanks to your blog. Thanks for the infomative and humorus blog, keep up the great job.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a peach simple syrup and one that could easily be modified to do it with raspberries, or any other fruit. Has anyone here tried to change up the peaches with raspberries or any other fruit. Also, does anyone know if I could substitute thawed frozen berries, now that it's winter I'm more likely to find them that way.
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