Sugar Sirups
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine 3 quarts of sugar and 2 quarts of water in a large pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Cook to thickness
Continue boiling until the desired thickness is reached: thin, medium‑thin, medium‑thick, or thick syrup.
To test the thickness, check if it sticks to your finger or spoon.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, as the syrup concentrates, the body and thickness of the finished syrup.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar so the syrup becomes smooth and evaporates during boiling to concentrate it.
The step that matters
Continue boiling until the desired thickness is reached. Thickness depends on how much water evaporates, so the syrup gets thicker the longer it boils. Checking often and stopping at the target stage prevents it from becoming too thick as it cools.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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