Mint Syrup: Main Uses and Homemade Recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Many people like the refreshing taste of mint in tea or other drinks. But not everyone has mint growing at hand, and in order to prepare an infusion from it, it takes a lot of time. It is much more convenient to have a jar of concentrated mint syrup in the refrigerator. You can buy it in the nearest supermarket, but it is better to cook it yourself.

Benefits and calories of mint syrup

For the manufacture of mint syrups, peppermint is most often used, containing an essential oil with a predominance of menthol. Unlike industrial samples, homemade syrup has a more natural flavor and natural composition.

The beneficial properties of the syrup for the body can not be overestimated:

• digestion improvement;
• appetite increase;
• relieve nausea and relieve stomach cramps;
• calming effect on the nervous system;
• quick recovery from colds and flu.

Calorie mint syrup is 282 kcal. It does not contain proteins and fats, but only carbohydrates (70 g per 100 g of product).

Therapeutic value of minthigh enough that it can be used in the fight against various ailments, not only fresh, but also dried and in the form of syrup.

Use in cooking

The main use of mint syrup is the preparation of hot and cold alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It is added as a natural flavor to tea, coffee, various cocktails and drinks. The refreshing taste of menthol is good for quenching thirst and invigorating.

Mint syrup can be soaked in biscuit cakes when making cakes, added to cream, poured over pancakes and pancakes, it can be served with ice cream or cottage cheese. The taste of the dessert will only benefit from this combination.

Mint syrup: classic recipe

To make a traditional mint syrup you will need: 1 cup mint leaves, 200 g sugar and 220 ml water, lemon juice or citric acid (on the tip of a knife).

Separate the leaves from the stems, rinse them in plenty of water, cut into fairly large pieces and pack tightly into a glass. Make syrup from water and sugar. Cook it for 10 minutes until it starts to thicken. After that, lower the mint leaves into the pan with the syrup. Let it boil over low heat, then turn off the stove. Now the syrup should infuse for 1 hour.

At this time, prepare a jar (200 ml of ready-made syrup is obtained from the indicated number of ingredients). Put the saucepan back on the fire. Let its contents boil, add citric acid, strain and pour the hot syrup into a jar.

The preparation time of the syrup is 15 minutes, it is infused for 1 hour, and it is stored all winter in a dark, cool place or on a refrigerator shelf for no more than 6 months.

Mint syrup has a consistency similar to fresh liquid honey, as for the shade, unlike the product sold in the store, it is not green, but amber. But if you wish, you can add a natural dye to it - a little spinach juice. Then the mint syrup will acquire an interesting greenish tint. At the same time, its refreshing menthol taste will be fully preserved.

Preserving mint syrup for the winter

To increase the shelf life of peppermint syrup, it can be canned. To do this, prepare the following ingredients: 200 g of mint leaves, 1.5 liters of water and 1.5 kg of sugar. From this number of components, you will get 2-3 jars of syrup, with a volume of 0.5 liters.

Mint syrup for the winter is prepared in the following sequence:

1. Rinse mint leaves under running water and put in a saucepan.
2. Pour mint with water, put the pot on the fire and boil.
3. Once the water boils, turn off the stove and set the pot aside for 24 hours.
4. After the specified time, strain the mint infusion, then pour sugar into the pan and put it on fire again.
5. Cook mint syrup over low heat for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer the cooking time, the thicker it will be.
6. Pour hot syrup into sterile jars,preserve with lids and wrap them until they cool completely.
7. Keep in a cool, dark place for about 1 year.

Mint syrup at home is thick and fragrant. And it may well replace natural honey.

Mint Ginger Syrup

To make a spicy mint syrup, you will need to take one glass of sugar, water and chopped mint. You will need only the leaves of the plant, so they must first be separated from the stems. A glass of mint must be well packed, otherwise the flavor of the syrup will not be as rich.

Pour water into a saucepan and add sugar to it. Boil a little. Then still hot sugar syrup should be poured over chopped mint leaves. Cover the pot with a lid and leave it like this for a day. After the specified time, the syrup must be boiled again. Put the pan on a slow fire, let it boil and cook for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. At the very end of cooking, add dried ginger (on the tip of a knife). While still hot, pour the mint syrup into a clean jar and cover with a lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

As a spicy-aromatic additive, you can use not only ginger, but also cinnamon, cloves, etc.

How to make mint syrup from dried mint

If suddenly someone wants natural mint syrup in winter, when fresh leaves are nowhere to be found, you can make a he althy delicacy from dried mint. You can buy it at any pharmacy.

Mint syrup, the recipe of which is offered below, turns out to be as rich and fragrant as brewed in the summer from a freshly plucked plant. To prepare it, you will need 50 g of dried mint, 1 liter of water, 400 g of sugar.

Water must first be boiled to pour over dried mint. Cover the dish with a lid and let it brew for 1.5 hours. Then strain the infusion using cheesecloth folded in four layers, add sugar and boil over low heat until a thick mint syrup is obtained.

At home, such a delicacy can be prepared at any time, because getting dried mint is not difficult. A delicious drink with the addition of mint syrup will cool you down in the summer heat and warm you up in the cold of winter.