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Strawberry Syrup

By Andrew Janjigian

Published on February 2, 2021

Time

20 minutes

Yield

Makes 1¼ cups

Strawberry Syrup

Ingredients

12 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed in refrigerator overnight1 ½ cups (10½ ounces) sugar ¾ teaspoon citric acid

Before You Begin

Frozen raspberries or blueberries can be substituted for the strawberries (raspberries will make the syrup a bit thicker, while blueberries will make it slightly thinner). If using fresh berries, freezing them overnight before thawing them will yield more juice. Citric acid is sold in powder form as “sour salt” in natural foods stores and many grocery stores; look for it in the spice aisle. If citric acid is unavailable, substitute ¼ cup of lemon juice; this will yield a thinner syrup.

Instructions

  1. Using potato masher, mash strawberries and sugar together in bowl and let sit until sugar is dissolved, 15 to 30 minutes. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much syrup as possible. Discard pulp. Stir in citric acid. (Syrup can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)
Strawberry Syrup
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Ashley Moore.

Strawberry Syrup

Save

Time

20 minutes

Yield

Makes 1¼ cups

Ingredients

12 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed in refrigerator overnight
1 ½ cups (10½ ounces) sugar
¾ teaspoon citric acid

Ingredients

12 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed in refrigerator overnight
1 ½ cups (10½ ounces) sugar
¾ teaspoon citric acid

Ingredients

12 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed in refrigerator overnight
1 ½ cups (10½ ounces) sugar
¾ teaspoon citric acid

Why This Recipe Works

Use this intensely flavored syrup to spruce up seltzer (with a 5:1 ratio of seltzer to syrup), cocktails, lemonade, or iced tea. Also try it drizzled over ice cream. Citric acid is the key to creating a thickened syrup with a touch of acidity. We found that, in combination with the sugar, it helped strengthen the pectin naturally present in the fruit, adding viscosity without diluting or thinning the syrup as lemon juice would.

Before You Begin

Frozen raspberries or blueberries can be substituted for the strawberries (raspberries will make the syrup a bit thicker, while blueberries will make it slightly thinner). If using fresh berries, freezing them overnight before thawing them will yield more juice. Citric acid is sold in powder form as “sour salt” in natural foods stores and many grocery stores; look for it in the spice aisle. If citric acid is unavailable, substitute ¼ cup of lemon juice; this will yield a thinner syrup.

Instructions

  1. Using potato masher, mash strawberries and sugar together in bowl and let sit until sugar is dissolved, 15 to 30 minutes. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much syrup as possible. Discard pulp. Stir in citric acid. (Syrup can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

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