Rosemary Simple Syrup

Mix sugar and water together in a small pot.
1 C dehydrated organic cane juice (sugar*)
1 C purified water
1 rosemary twig

Bring the sugar and water to a soft boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat; cool.
Add fresh rosemary twig to cooled syrup to flavor it.
The longer it is in the syrup, the stronger the syrup’s flavor!

Other flavor options are too many to list so here’s the obvious few:
basil, mint, sage, garlic, edible flowers, jalapeño, red hots, orange and lemon rinds with pith removed.

Flavor Additions  I have read many recipes where the flavoring is added to the boiling liquid, however, for my taste and visual appearances, it makes the syrup a bit murky and bitter. Also, using the dehydrated cane juice (sugar) in your recipe will impart a crystal clear syrup but will have the slightest amber tinge because this is the true color of sugar before it is cooked, pasteurized or whatever they do prior to delivering it to the market place. All the pre-market processing is what gives sugar a bad rap and turns it into those pure white crystals found on shelf in mostly, brown paper glued packages.

Syrup Uses  this syrup is used to sweeten teas, coffees, lemonades, jams, smoothies, frosting, as well as fruits, particularly baked apples, in cakes, cookies, candy; to flavor marinades and glazing different types of meat.

Store  in a tight seal glass container in the refrigerator. I read where this keeps about a month…understand, this is sugar and water and if stored properly, will keep indefinitely. Do your own research if you don’t believe me.

Story  I served vodka martinis in a huge glass spigot-ed container with the rosemary simple syrup at my 69th birthday celebration! As I wrote in the October column, it sent a few of my friends way over the moon, very quickly, and one of the more creative, happy, tipsy guests named it … Rocket Fuel…and stated he had had enough! Now the story isn’t over. There was quite a bit of this Rocket Fuel left over and I bottled some and sent it home with friends. About a month ago I was visiting them and we were all in reminiscing moods, trying to decide what kind of toddy each of us preferred that evening, when out of the blue, JB pulled out that very same Rocket Fuel, poured it into a martini glass and handed it to me with some big laughs; AND, I am happy to report, it was even better than it was in July 2009! Some things just have tremendous lasting power! 

*Sugar FYI  If you get the chance to make a comparison, note that white sugar is free flowing…it doesn’t stick together unless you get moisture in it; so ask yourself…what kind of processing was required to make it that way? The same thing with free flowing salt. They contain additives to make them behave that way!

The dehydrated cane juice is moist, just like that old brown sugar we were always sticking an apple into to keep it from turning into a petrified rock before the next use. READ LABELS! to ensure you are using a healthy product.

Click here to download the recipe as it appears in the October 2015 CenterPoint publication (pdf).