The liquid may look completely clear, but “You're approaching caramelization, which is this cascading process where sucrose”-a.k.a. Every time you heat sugar-even just to dissolve it in water-you’re technically starting the candy-making process, explains bartender and Epi contributor Al Sotack. Recipes have long dictated using hot or boiling water to allow for the sugar to easily dissolve into a solution, but in recent years, many bartenders have moved away from this method. “Simple syrup imparts almost no actual taste, so I think of this as the vodka of sweeteners,” says Jessica King of Brother Wolf, an aperitivo bar in Knoxville. (Water weighs a little more than its volume in ounces sugar a little less.) If you combine by volume, your syrup will be a tad less sweet-and for many home bartenders, that may be close enough. But professional bartenders believe it’s more accurate to combine these ingredients based on weight, not volume, to achieve a perfect 50° Brix (sweetness) level. Most basic simple syrup recipes call for a cup of water and a cup of sugar-and many cocktails on Epicurious were tested with that base ratio. Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton How to make simple syrup-the easy way: According to the recent The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, it was initially “called ‘simple’ by pharmacists to differentiate it from compounded syrups, made with medicinal plants.” Today, however, it’s simple because just about everyone has a massive, leaky sack of Domino or C&H in their cabinets-it’s the same sugar you might bake with.Īn old-fashioned without simple syrup? That's just whiskey. Typically, that sugar will be of the white, granulated, “regular” kind, though back in Thomas’s day he used a more flavorful loaf-sugar, not to mention egg whites. Simple syrup is a mixture of one part sugar and one part water. Also calling it “white plain syrup,” Thomas mostly employs it in a variety of 10-gallon punches and offers more than a page of instructions for how to make it (“To clarify loaf-sugar and make syrup” as he notes). How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion). “Simple syrup” appeared in print in the first ever cocktail recipe companion, “Professor” Jerry Thomas’s 1862 work, The Bar-Tender’s Guide (a.k.a. Everything else-fruit juices, ice, those little umbrella garnishes-is nice, but alcohol and sugar will always remain the base for pretty much any cocktail. You could argue that besides booze, a sugar syrup is what inherently makes a cocktail a cocktail, adding texture, balance, and drinkability. More on that in a minute, but first, the basics: What is simple syrup? Below, we'll break down the pros and cons of each, illustrate variations like rich simple syrup and honey syrup, and leave you with our go-to simple syrup recipe, an easy base you can adjust with flavorings as you please. But the basic mixture of sugar and water is also up to plenty of other tasks, like soaking cake layers or sweetening iced coffee.Īs you might guess-“simple” is in the name, after all-simple syrup is remarkably easy to make, but there are a few different techniques. On the other hand, simple syrup, a critical component for making cocktails, is arguably the easiest thing one can prepare in the kitchen. Sure, there's no-bake cheesecake and quick bread, but those necessitate a shopping list of ingredients and a bit of prep time. But simple syrup puts it right out front. Few recipes literally spell out how easy they are to make.
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