I love Italian sodas and was deeply saddened when I developed an allergy to the one flavor of syrup I liked and was sold nearby. Fortunately I ran across
this site and used a lot of the tips to make a batch of my own, safe-for-me strawberry-lemon syrup. Delicious! And it lasted for 2 months until I ran out yesterday. Right away I made a batch of raspberry-lime. Also delicious!
Isn't it pretty? I opted for no ice, milk or whipped cream. Just sparkling water and syrup. It's that good!
For both batches I used the site's tip and added
1/
2 teaspoon of citric acid (often used for canning) to help it keep.
Here's the strawberry-lemon recipe I came up with:
1 bag of frozen strawberries
Peeled zest of 1 lemon (just take a veggie peeler to it. Try not to get the white under layer! It's bitter.)
2 cups of sugar (the site said to reduce the amount of sugar based on the sweetness of the fruit. I think strawberries are pretty sweet so I started with a cup and half. It tasted like jam.)
1
1/
2 cups water
1/
2 teaspoon citric acid
the lemon's juice
For the raspberry-lime:
1 bag frozen raspberries
peeled zest of 2 limes (Mine were small. Adjust to taste.)
2 cups of sugar
1
1/
2 cups water
1/
2 teaspoon citric acid
Juice of 1 of the limes
For both I brought all the ingredients except the juice to a boil then let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Next I put it through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a glass bowl, mashing the simmered-mixture with the back of a spoon to help the juices leak through the sieve into the bowl. Once the syrup cooled a bit it was into a bottle with the juice then into the fridge. Easy-peasy and yummy! Different than store-bought, but excellent nonetheless. And it makes a lot:
I've already used about an inch and that's a 33 ounce (I think) bottle.
These are so quick, easy and, as far as I can tell, pretty much fool-proof just like the link says. Make up your own, check the link for more recipes and tips and feel free to use mine too. Cheers!
