What is simple syrup?

It is a mixture of sugar and water which is cooked to increase the shelf life and is prepared to make our lives easier. Haha! Yes, with this simple syrup in the refrigerator, cold beverages can be prepared like a breeze, effortlessly and in no time.

Why should simple syrup be used instead of granulated sugar for cold beverages?

Here are a few reasons that will make you make this syrup:

–Granulated sugar takes a long time to dissolve in liquids, milk/water/other liquids and longer to dissolve if the liquid used is cold.

–Granulated sugar doesn’t dissolve proper. The smoothness that you will get by using sugar syrup can’t be attained by the use of granulated sugar.

–It is believed that the use of granulated sugar in cold beverages causes pain in hands and feet.

–If the cold beverage is ready and then you realize it is not sweet enough, adding granulated sugar won’t help. In this case, simple syrup works the best.

Let’s talk about the ingredients for simple syrup recipe

Simple syrup calls for sugar and water in the same proportion. The proportion can be changed to 2:1:: sugar: water which will give a thicker sugar syrup with better shelf life but has the risk of crystallization of sugar. A ratio of 1: 2:: sugar: water works well for glazing cookies etc. Depending upon your taste and purpose of use, you can flavor the syrup with spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, etc or flavors such as vanilla, etc. I like my cold beverage quite sweet, so I add 3 tbsp of simple syrup for 1 cup, which gives me sweetness that is equal to what I get by adding 2 tbsp granulated sugar. So accordingly you can judge the quantity to be used or just try it once and work out how much you need for one glass of cold beverage.