Capillaire or Simple Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the sugar
Put the sugar in large lumps into a pot with boiling water.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil and skim
Boil the mixture until it thickens and turns a slight yellow.
Skim the surface carefully while boiling.
Cool and bottle
Once finished, pour the syrup into a jug and let it cool completely before bottling.
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
- Loaf sugar
- Provides the sweetness and body, and thickens as boiling drives off water.
The step that matters
Boil until slightly thickened and yellow, no further. Boiling evaporates water, so the syrup thickens. Heating too long makes the sugar caramelise, which darkens the colour and adds a bitter taste.
“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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