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To Make the Syrup

A syrup made from water, sugar, and salt for preserving vegetables.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Make the Syrup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. In a pot, combine 1 quart of water with ½ lb of sugar.

  2. Boil for 20 minutes, skimming off any foam.

  3. For preserving vegetables like peas and beans, add 1 oz of coarse sea salt to the water.

Preserve the vegetables

  1. Cook the vegetables in the syrup until tender, in small batches, then bottle immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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
Forms a concentrated syrup that preserves vegetables by drawing out water and limiting microbial growth.
Coarse sea salt
Adds savour and helps firm vegetables while the syrup preserves them.

The step that matters

Cook the vegetables until tender, in small batches. Crowding the pot drops the syrup's temperature and slows cooking, so vegetables may cook unevenly and not reach the tender state needed before bottling. Small batches keep the syrup hot and the vegetables evenly cooked.

“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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