Strawberries are in season right now, which means you’ll have all kinds of beautiful berries to choose from at the market. Plus, you’ll have the added benefit of knowing what went into your syrup– just three ingredients, all natural, nothing artificial. Sugar acts as a natural preservative, so all you need to do is refrigerate. The syrup will last for weeks (but it’s so addicting, it never lasts that long in my kitchen!).
Homemade strawberry syrup can be used for a number of purposes. It is most commonly added to beverages and cocktails to give them a strong, sweet strawberry flavor. Try adding it to lemonade to make strawberry lemonade or seltzer to make a strawberry spritzer. It makes a lovely addition to cocktails and mocktails. You can also drizzle it on pancakes or waffles as an alternative to maple syrup. So many possibilities!
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Homemade Strawberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds strawberries
- 1 quart water (4 cups)
- 2 cups sugar
NOTES
Instructions
- Rinse the berries clean, then hull them with a paring knife by slicing around and pulling out the stem.
- Slice the strawberries into smaller pieces.
- Place the strawberry slices in a medium saucepan.
- Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium simmer and let the strawberries cook for about 20 minutes. Skim any foam that rises to the top.
- After about 20 minutes, the strawberries will have lost most of their color and the water should be deep pink/red in color. Remove from heat.
- Strain the strawberry liquid through a fine mesh strainer into another clean pot, separating the solid berries from the liquid. DO NOT press down on the solids to extract more juice; it's tempting, but doing this will make your strawberry syrup cloudy.
- Once the strawberry liquid has been strained, discard the solid berries. Add 2 cups of sugar to the strawberry liquid. Bring back to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar into the syrup. Let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes till the sugar is completely dissolved, skimming any additional foam that rises to the top.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Pour into a glass container, seal, and refrigerate. The syrup should last for several weeks.
- Note: if you prefer a thicker syrup for use on pancakes or waffles, you can simmer it for several minutes longer till the liquid reduces and thickens more. The consistency as written is perfect for mixing into beverages.
Kathryn Von Buren says
I love recipes that replace store bought items ladened with preservatives and unknown extras. This looks delicious. Would this work with other berries (i.e. blueberries, raspberries)?
Tori Avey says
Raspberries will work great, I do it that way every year. Blueberries should too, but you may need more berries to get that deep rich blue color and flavor (I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for certain– you would have to experiment a bit). Enjoy!
Jessica says
This looks good. Can anything be done with the remaining berry pulp, such as taking some of the finished syrup and creating a pancake topping or something like that? It’d be great if there were a way to avoid throwing out the berries — they might not look pretty, but they’ve probably still got some taste left in them. Thanks.
Tori Avey says
Hi Jessica. Believe it or not, the berries are pretty tasteless after the extraction process. That said, I understand not wanting to waste them. What you could do is mix them up with some sugar then use them as a topping for pancakes or ice cream. They won’t be nearly as flavorful as normal berries, but they will still taste slightly strawberry-ish.
anna says
can it be frozen????
Tori Avey says
Yes, you can! It may not solidify completely in the freezer, though.
Marcia says
Will this work with Splenda instead of sugar?
Tori Avey says
It won’t have the same preservative properties as sugar, but I don’t see why you couldn’t make it with Splenda to make it lower carb… I’m just not sure what the ratio would be of Splenda to strawberry water, since I’ve never tried it myself before. Perhaps try adding it to taste? It also won’t thicken in the same way that the sugar syrup will, which is no big deal for adding to beverages, but you won’t get a pancake syrup-like texture from it if that’s what you’re after. If you try it let me know how it worked out for you!
Kim Henry says
I just did this with plums and it turned out amazing. I did actually can it in small jelly jars so it would keep longer and then I could give it as gifts throughout the summer.
Tori Avey says
Fabulous! Did you save one for me? 😉
Leah Saban says
This is a lovely recipe, so simple – and it really does look very beautiful. I like that you can make it with several other berries. Do you think you could do something similar with Pomegranates?
Tori Avey says
Interesting idea Leah! I make a pomegranate molasses which is much thicker than this: http://theshiksa.com/2011/09/07/pomegranate-molasses/ but a thinner beverage “simple syrup” would also be great. Putting it on my list for pomegranate season!
Phil Trupp says
Dear Shiksa, Anthony is a pro, certainly. Still, I´ve followed your recipes almost every day with surprise and delight, and I´m one of those NYC-DC foodie types who is always on the lookout for new restaurants and bistros. Hope you don´t mind that I´ve suggested some of your recipes to friends in the business, mostly on the French side. In the end, we must give Anthony his due, while I continue to delight in your ingenuity and astonishing creativity. BTW: I remain a fan of Jacques Papin and the late great Julia.
Douglas Dunn says
My wife wants to learn to make it…. MMMMMMMMM I love my wife.
Heather Menges says
I need a bigger fridge for all your cool ideas!
Rhonda Lehman Becker says
Love you tori!
Sue/the view from great island says
I love the color of this syrup. I’ve been experimenting with simple syrups a lot this spring, and I think this one would make a killer mojito!
Elisa R. Posniack says
I have bbeen looking for a new idea for all these strawberries I have thank you! however, if they go bad fairly quickly as strawberries often do, will making them into this form, help preserve them and if so, for how long, refrigerate etc? thank you
Tori Avey says
Yes, this syrup is naturally preserved with sugar. It will last for several months in the refrigerator, or even longer if you know how to can it using a sterile canning process.
Kathy Crowell says
Falafels not so much, but SC strawberries are so yummy right now
Stacy says
Can I do with frozen berries. I have frozen berries and would love to make strawberry seltzer. Thanks
Tori Avey says
Hmm, I’ve never tried it with frozen berries before… in theory it should work, but I can’t promise because I haven’t tried it myself. If I have a chance to try it I will report back!
Richard R. says
Frozen is great way to go for many dishes.’
Yolanda says
Yes frozen works just fine I just finished mine… Your recipe is awesome
Tori Avey says
Happy to hear that Yolanda!
Phil Trupp says
Shiksa, you are culinary genius. Anthony Bordain had nothing on you.
Tori Avey says
That is a pretty major compliment! Anthony rocks, I bow down to him. 😉 Thanks!
Cynthia Kantor says
YYYYUUUUMMMM!!
Nicole Williams says
I love the simple syrups (especially from the candied lemon peels!) but can your recipe work with raspberries and blueberries just the same? Not big on strawberries
Tori Avey says
Absolutely Nicole! I make raspberry syrup every year. Blueberries should also work, but you might want to start with less liquid for them to see how strongly they infuse. Enjoy!
Lilibeth Simon says
yummy Thanks! ;0
Ron Dill says
and falafels!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Thank you! Now I know what to do with all the strawberries I have here!