So while mason jars certainly look great, they are difficult to pour from.Īt home I prefer storing syrups in glass containers. The ideal vessel for simple syrup is something you can easily pour out of and put a cap on. Note: rich simple syrup will keep for much longer because of the high sugar content. I used this method and the bottle has been in my fridge more than 8 months and there still isn’t a trace of anything. If you bottle syrup when it's still hot, the heat will sterilize the inside of the bottle and further prevent mold from growing for a very long time. Store it in the cleanest bottle you have, which you should always do. Be careful to not let it boil for too long or the evaporating water will eventually throw off the syrup's sweetness ratio. Even just using boiling water to dissolve the sugar makes a big difference. That will kill off any fungus or bacteria that may be hiding in there. If you want to keep mold from growing in your simple syrup for longer than a month, you can make it on the stove and bring it a boil. So it doesn't oxidize or spoil exactly, it just becomes unattractive. After which little specs of mold may begin to appear. Simple syrup will generally keep for at least month in the refrigerator. Swirling them together in a shaker for about 30 seconds - with room temperature juice - should do the trick. Sugar doesn't break down into alcohol so well. If you do use raw sugar dissolve it into just the citrus juice first. I think raw sugar works great in a daiquiris for example.īecause it needs to be dissolved on the spot I wouldn't recommend using raw sugar in a bar, it takes far too long, and in a rush some will inevitably end up at the bottom of the glass. Because there's no water, it gives drinks a slightly more concentrated edge, which some find preferable in more bracing cocktails. That being said, using raw sugar can be interesting.

Here's the conversion:ġ tablespoon white sugar equals about ¾ oz simple syrup So, it's generally ok substitute in simple syrup for raw sugar. With raw sugar some of it always ends up collecting the bottom of the glass, reminiscent of raw sugar in iced coffee (notice we’re seeing more and more simple syrup at coffee shops nowadays). But today the majority of bartenders use simple syrup as a basic sweetener because it is be easier to measure and will integrate into the cocktail much more consistently. Some older cocktails recipes you'll see will call for a couple teaspoons or so of raw sugar as the sweetener. Bonus: it's great for sweetening the likes of iced coffee, tea, and fresh lemonade. It only takes a few minutes and keeps very well in the refrigerator, so you can make it in large batches.

So simple syrup prep is an essential addition to your cocktail routine. All cocktail recipes are written assuming scratch-made syrup is being used. Not only is making simple syrup ridiculously easy - you just combine equal parts white sugar and hot water and stir until dissolved - but store-bought simple syrup can't be used in most cocktail recipes because the sugar/water ratios are off. Even more so than I discourage buying pasteurized juice if that gives you any idea of how serious I feel about it. While there are commercial simple syrups available - I strongly discourage using them. The most common sweetener is plain sugar, and the easiest way to work sugar into cocktails is by making sim ple syrup. Just about any time a cocktail contains fresh citrus juice - and a lot of them do - it will also have a sweetener to balance it out.

Simple syrup shelf life