5 Basic Syrups for Home
- Ian Barris
- Jan 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 8
Simple Syrup:
There are two easy ways to do this:
Either by blending warm water equal parts in weight (Grams) with sugar until sugar is fully dissolved,
or by warming water to 160-170°F then transferring to a glass/Cambro non-reactive container then stirring in equal weight in sugar until dissolved. Alternatively, you can do the stove pot method but I'm trying to save you time here :)
A good place to start would be 500G water to 500G white sugar. This should yield about 16 oz and last at least a month.
Alternatives:
There are two other ways of making sugar syrups such as Simple: Semi-Rich and Rich.
Semi-Rich means 1.5 sugar volume to 1 water. Rich means 2 sugar volume to 1 water.
Demerara Syrup:
Same process as simple syrup, but with Demerara sugar instead, which is a darker, richer sugar than white sugar but not quite as heavy as brown sugar. Think of it as the crunchy crust of a Crème brûlée: light caramel, toffee and a hint of molasses.
For this one, I usually prefer going with a Semi Rich version (Check Alternatives above for explanation) instead of 1:1, so a good place to start would be 500g water, to 750G sugar.
Also, for Demerara sugar to dissolve you'll need to blend for longer or warm the water to 180°F and stir for longer. The sugar crystals are generally bigger, and the sugar itself dissolves slower compared to white sugar.
Agave Syrup:
For this one, you could honestly use warm tap water as Agave dissolves at a lower temp than other sugars. However, for the sake of not using unfiltered water, I would personally suggest filtered water then warm it to 145-155°F (Agave is thinner than sugars and overcooking it makes it taste weird), then stir in equal weight in Agave Nectar (500G water to 500G Agave)
Honey Syrup:
Honey is usually more delicate, just like Agave - so you will want lower temperature for the water, then stir in slowly and consistently until fully dissolved. For this (and the Agave syrup), avoid blending. Instead, gently incorporate by stirring with a milk frother until fully dissolved.
Set your kettle to 140-150°F, pour in 500G water - then once water is ready, stir in 500G Honey the way I mentioned.
Orgeat Syrup:
For this one, instead of water, we'll warm up Almond Milk (500G Unsweetened, no flavor) to 135-145°F then stir in our ingredients:
500G Sugar
1.5 Barspoon Almond Extract
3/4 Barspoon Orange Blossom Water