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The Spruce
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving) | |
---|---|
57 | Calories |
0g | Fat |
15g | Carbs |
0g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 8 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 57 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 0g | 0% |
Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
Sodium 1mg | 0% |
Total Carbohydrate 15g | 6% |
Dietary Fiber 1g | 3% |
Protein 0g | |
Calcium 8mg | 1% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
Lemon syrup is a lemon-infused syrup that adds tons of flavor to anything it's stirred into or drizzled over. It's super easy to makeālemon juice, sugar, and some lemon zest are all you needāand it adds both sweetness and a lemony kick to cocktails and desserts. (It's slightly different from the kind of simple syrup you might make for cocktails, insofar as you're using lemon juice instead of water.)
When covered and chilled, lemon syrup keeps almost indefinitely. It's mainly sugar, so unless something truly funky happens, you're likely to use it up well before anything about it "turns." (Technically, people might say the syrup lasts up to six months, but it's possible for a jar of the stuff toĀ last well over a year in the fridge.) Having a party? Go ahead and make as big a batch as sounds good, and be ready to use it in all kinds of cocktailsāuse it instead of simple syrup in a lemon drop martini for another layer of lemon zip or to sweeten a margarita.
Best of all, use it to sweetenĀ lemonadeĀ or iced tea for the best versions of those summer thirst-quenchers you've ever had.
Ingredients
- 4 lemons
- 1/2 cup sugar
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Using a sharp paring knife, cut off and reserve the zest, or bright yellow part of the peel, of one of the lemons. You can also use a Microplane zester, but then you'll have to strain the syrup at the end instead of simply lifting out the strips of zestāthe choice is yours. However you zest the lemon, be sure to focus on the bright yellow part only and carefully avoid the bitter white pith below.Ā
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Working with 1 lemon at a time, cut the lemons in half and juice them until you have 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice (you may not need all the lemonsāthey vary greatly in how much juice they produce).
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Combine the juice with the sugar in a small saucepan and bring the mixture just to a boil over medium-high heat.
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Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
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Add the reserved lemon zest. Transfer the syrup to a small metal bowl and let it sit until cool, about 20 minutes.
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Lift out the zest, letting any excess syrup drip off and back into the bowl, and discard the zest.
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If you ended up with lots of small pieces of zest, strain the syrup through a sieve. The zest can turn bitter if left to sit in the syrup while it's stored, so remove and discard it.
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If you want to use the syrup while it's still warm, now is the time. (Don't worry, you can always warm it back up if you need to.)
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Alternatively, cover the bowl and chill the syrup to add to cold beverages. Or, transfer to a clean jar, screw on the lid, and store in the fridge for several months if you need to.
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How to Use Lemon Syrup
- Use the warm syrup over pancakes or waffles.
- Drizzle it over pound cake or a Bundt cake.
- Add a drop onto a fruit saladāa little goes a long way.
- Sweeten lemonade with it, and you'll never have undissolved sugar at the bottom of your glass again.
- Use in place of honey in marinades and dressings for a lemon punch.
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