SIMPLE MINT SYRUP – OR ANY HERB

SIMPLE MINT SYRUP – OR ANY HERB
Uses for mint simple syrup
Use this the way you’d use any sweet, flavored syrup. Try:
Adding it to cocktails
A shot in your coffee, tea, or latte
Adding it to milkshakes
Drizzling it on a warm cake as a glaze
Using it to flavor icings or fillings
Use your imagination!
This method works with other herbs
You can use this basic method to make a bunch of other kinds of simple
syrups with leafy green herbs. Try making rosemary simple syrup. It’s
a-ma-zing in a cocktail with St. Germaine and vodka.

Mint Simple Syrup
1 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
Yields about 1 1/2 cups

Grab your mint. If you picked it from the garden, give it a quick rinse and dry it off.
Chop it up, stems and all.
Aim for about a cup. A little over, a little under…no big tragedy.
Stick the mint in a bowl or other heatproof container and set it aside while you make the sugar syrup.
Put the sugar and water in a small pot.
Bring it to a boil over high heat, whisking occasionally to dissolve the
sugar. When it’s boiling and the sugar has completely dissolved, remove
the pot from the heat.
Pour the sugar syrup over the chopped mint.
Give it a stir to make sure all the mint is submerged.
Cover it with plastic wrap or a plate. Let it steep like this on the counter
until it cools to room temperature. You want to cover it because a lot
of mint’s flavor is in its volatile essential oils, which can escape
with steam. (Same thing if you make peppermint tea…cover it while it
steeps to keep more of that minty goodness in your cup.)
The mint will go from vivid green to a duller, cooked veggie colored green.
When the syrup has cooled completely, strain it, pressing the mint with the
back of a spoon to squeeze out as much syrup as you can. Discard the
mint, it’s done its job
And…voila! Mint simple syrup! Store it covered, in the fridge, for about 3 weeks…if it lasts that long.