Sugar and Ice Snowballs uses a ton of simple syrup for our snowcones and cocktails and mocktails. It adds the perfect amount of sweetness. We love it because, well...it is so SIMPLE! And I'll tell you all it about it! Here's the truth bomb its only half water and half sugar. It doesn't matter the size of your batch, the most basic recipe will always be a 1:1 ration of these two ingredients. You can mix these a few different ways depending on your time and resources but once prepared and stored properly, you'll have a stable syrup that can last in the fridge for up to a month.
BASIC Simple Syrup Recipe
Pour 1 cup of white granulated sugar and 1 cup of water into a saucepan.
Place the pot over medium heat.
Stir until dissolved. The liquid will be completely clear instead of cloudy.
Immediately remove from heat.
This recipe produces about 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup.
Different Variations
Instead of using white granulated sugar you can use brown sugar or honey. To get a heavy textured simple syrup, double the sugar but not the water. That would make it a 2:1 ratio. Also, you can mix a thinner simple syrup by using the 1:1 ratio but shaking or stirring without hit until the sugar dissolves.
INFUSED Simple Syrups
Its an easy trick to add flavor to your simple syrup. Infuse your basic simple recipe by adding in the flavorful ingredients during the cooling process to steep. Then drain or remove the ingredients. Adding flavors shortens the shelf life of your syrup to 1-2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. Here are some ideas for infusing!
lemon zest
cinnamon
jalapenos
mint
literally anything!
FRUIT simple syrup
The good news is that you can use almost any kind of fruit. I would just focus on the ones that are in season. If you are using berries, then just make sure to wash and cut off any stems first. Here's a amazing blackberry simple syrup recipe. If you are using a melons, you really only need the juice and some of the zest. Here's a really great and informative recipe blog for simple homeade lemon syrup. The takeaway here is that you add the fruit with a little bit of lemon juice, sugar and water and simmer. Let is cool completely then strain it over a sieve before storing it! Now that it has fruit in it, you'll need to use it within the next two weeks.
Create a spicy margarita with jalepeno syrup or a watermelon mint julip! Turn a tea into a lemon sweet tea! Or leave it to us at Sugar and Ice to make a special selection of simple syrups that you can add to any drink or snowcone service.