How to make strawberry simple syrup (and 7 fun ways to use it this summer).

Strawberries. Mmmmm. Whether you grow your own, or get them fresh from a local farm, the flavor of summer strawberries is well worth your time to preserve. Usually, I make strawberry freezer jam with my berries, but strawberry simple syrup is another wonderful homemade product to make and keep on hand. 

The great thing about making your own syrup is you can make it without artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors. 

Strawberry syrup has many uses. Lot's of drink recipes call for this strawberry syrup. It gives drinks a strong strawberry flavor and a splash of color. But strawberry syrup can be used in many other ways as well. In this article, I'll show you how to make strawberry simple syrup, and I'll share 7 fun ways you can use it this summer. 

How to make strawberry simple syrup.

To make the best syrup, start with
ripe juicy berries, fresh from
your garden or a local farm.

Ingredients

3 cups granulated sugar

2 cups water

2 cups thinly sliced strawberries 

(Begin with about 3 1/2 cups whole berries to get 2 cups sliced)

Sugar, water and strawberries
are all you need to make syrup.

Other supplies

Saucepan

Knife

Medium size strainer with fine mesh

Cheese cloth

Clean jar or bottle to store syrup in

Instructions

This recipe takes about 30 minutes and should yield about 1 quart of syrup.

Step 1: Heat the water and sugar. Place the sugar and water in the saucepan. Stir together and heat over medium heat. While the sugar and water heat, move to step 2.

Heat the sugar and water over
medium heat.

Step 2: Prepare the berries. Wash, hull and slice strawberries into small pieces until you have 2 cups worth. (You will need about 3 1/2 cups whole strawberries to end up with 2 cups sliced).

Slice the strawberries into small pieces.

Step 3: Add the berries. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the sliced strawberries. Bring the mixture to a low boil. Allow to simmer at a low boil for about 6 minutes. 
 

Add the strawberries and simmer
at a low boil for about 6 minutes.

Step 4: Let the mixture cool. Remove the mixture from heat and allow to sit and cool for about 10 minutes. Avoid the temptation to squeeze the cooked fruit to extract more juice, or your syrup may end up looking cloudy.

After boiling for about 6 minutes, 
remove from heat and let cool for
10 minutes.

Step 5: Strain. Carefully pour the mixture, one cup at a time, through the strainer and a clean piece of cheese cloth. Replace the cheese cloth every couple of cups with a fresh piece. Resist the temptation to press and squeeze the last drops from the pulp, or your syrup may end up looking cloudy.

Strain the syrup mixture directly into
your jar or bottle through a
fine mesh strainer and a piece of
cheese cloth. This recipe should
yield 1 quart jar.

Step 6: Store this syrup in the fridge. This syrup will last for months in the refrigerator, because the sugar acts as a natural preservative.

You can't beat the clear red color and
perfect strawberry flavor this recipe
provides.

That's all there is to making strawberry syrup! It's super easy. I think you'll be amazed at the delicious, all-natural strawberry flavor. Read on to discover 7 ways you can use your syrup this summer...

7 ways to use strawberry simple syrup this summer.

1. All natural strawberry soda: This is berry delicious! Just combine in a 24 ounce bottle, 2/3 cup strawberry simple syrup and enough sparkling mineral water to fill to the top. If you want, you can get really creative and decorate your bottles. I did these for our Father's Day picnic this year. 

Make easy homemade strawberry soda
by mixing strawberry syrup with
sparkling mineral water.

2. Strawberry pancakes: Pour warm strawberry syrup over a hot stack of buttermilk pancakes and serve with sliced strawberries. Yum. 

Drizzle strawberry syrup directly
over pancakes.

3. Strawberry citrus punch: This punch is easy and delicious. Just combine in a large pitcher or drink dispenser (1 gallon capacity), 3 cups orange juice, 3 cups lemonade, 3 cups grape juice, 1 cup strawberry simple syrup, 4 cups sparkling mineral water, 1 cup hulled and sliced strawberries, and 1 orange sliced into wheels that are cut in half. Serve with red striped paper straws and garnish with mint. 

Use strawberry simple syrup to
make refreshing summertime punch.

4. Drizzle strawberry syrup over shortcake. Instead of mixing berries with plain sugar for strawberry shortcake, use your homemade strawberry syrup. Just combine 1/4 cup syrup with every 1 cup sliced berries. Top shortcake with the berry-syrup mixture. 

Use strawberry syrup to
sweeten berries for strawberry
shortcake.

5. Refreshing summertime popsicles. Add a burst of fresh strawberry flavor to popsicles by mixing together 1/4 cup strawberry syrup to every 2 cups of your choice of juice. Pour the syrup and juice mixture into popsicle freezing containers and freeze for 6 hours. Your kids will think you bought these popsicles from a store, but you'll know they're entirely natural (depending on the variety of juice you choose).

Add strawberry simple syrup to
juice to make delicious homemade
popsicles.

6. Strawberry yogurt smoothie. In the blender, mix 2 cups yogurt with 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup juice of your choice, and 1/4 cup strawberry simple syrup. Refreshingly good! Learn how to make your own YOGURT here.

Blend syrup with yogurt, juice and frozen berries for
a delicious summer smoothie.

7. Topping for ice cream. This is classic, but easy to forget as an option for strawberry syrup. It can either go on top or be mixed into homemade ice cream while you're making it. Learn how to make HOMEMADE ICE CREAM without an ice cream maker here.

Top ice cream or add to homemade
ice cream for strawberry flavor.

And the ideas could go on and on...

Final thoughts...

Did you know it was this easy to make strawberry syrup? What are some of your favorite recipes and ways to use simple syrup like this? I'd love it if you'd share in the comments below.

Until next time...

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: It's a verb, because it's what you do."

Strawberry freezer jam: Simply dazzling in color and flavor. (Get jammin' with this easy tutorial).

When I was a girl, my grandmother's strawberry jam amazed me. How did she capture the taste of fresh-picked summer strawberries that way? And that brilliant ruby red color! Why didn't our jam at home look like that? Then Grammy taught me her secret. Freezer jam. 

Why freezer jam?

Freezer jam is the best way to preserve the summer-fresh flavor of strawberries, because you don't cook it. Cooked strawberries can't compare to the taste of fresh-picked. Likewise, the brilliant red of the berries is preserved when you don't cook the jam.  

Besides it's superior flavor and color, freezer jam beats the heat, too. Canning food in summer has it's place, to be sure, but who wants to slave over a hot stove on a 90 degree day if there's the option to freeze jam instead?

In this article, I'll show you how to make freezer jam the way Grammy did, including her little secret that gave every jar of jam that extra little sparkle that would take you right back to summertime, even in the dead of winter. 

What you will need

1 quart (4 cups) firm ripe strawberries cut in half. 

4 cups white granulated sugar 

1 fresh medium-size lemon

3/4 cup water

1 box (1.75 ounces) powdered fruit pectin 

(I like to use Sure-Jell, the yellow box)

Other supplies

6 Jelly jars with lids, washed and dried

A potato masher (or food processor)

Large mixing bowl

zest grater

Always start with firm, ripe
berries. These are from my garden, but
my family also likes to visit a u-pick farm
for large gatherings of fresh,
affordable strawberries to make
many batches of jam.

How to make strawberry freezer jam.

STEP 1: You will need 4 quarts whole strawberries to make approximately 2 cups of crushed berries. Wash, hull and cut your strawberries into manageable pieces that will be easy to mash.

Wash, hull and cut strawberries
into manageable pieces.

STEP 2: Using a potato masher, gently crush 1 cup of berries at a time, mashing them into a rough pulp. I like this method, because I want my jam to have texture with some berry parts detectable. If you prefer, you could also use a food processor. If using a food processor, pulse to chop the berries into fine pieces, but do not puree. Technically, jam is supposed to have small pieces of fruit in it. Pureeing the berries would create a jelly, as it would be smooth and absent of any chucks. 

When you're done mashing the berries, remove a 1/4 cup of the juice to help ensure a firm set. 

Crush the berries, one cup at a time,
into a rough pulp.

STEP 3: Now it's time for the ingredient Grammy used to help her jam retain that bright, sunny fresh-picked flavor all year: Lemon. Lemon makes strawberry freezer jam positively sparkle with flavor! First, add 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice to the berry mix and stir it in. Then, add a 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest and stir it in. Adding lemon is like adding a ray of sunshine to every jar. 

Fresh lemon, the ingredient
that helps capture summer's flavor. 

STEP 4: Now measure the exact amount of sugar and place it in the mixing bowl. Measure 2 cups exactly of the crushed strawberries and add them to the bowl with the sugar. Mix together well. Let the bowl stand for 10 minutes, giving it a stir now and then. 

When measuring the sugar and
berries, it's important to be
precise.

STEP 5: While the berry mix is left to stand, prepare the pectin. In a small saucepan, stir together one box (1.75 ounces) powdered fruit pectin and 3/4 cup water. It's okay if it's lumpy at first. Over high heat, bring the pectin to a boil, stirring constantly. Let it boil for 1 minute, stirring continuously then remove from heat. Add the cooked pectin to the fruit mixture and stir it in. Stir for 3 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. I've found that regular granulated sugar works better than the raw, more course kind, as the latter takes much longer to dissolve. When you're done, you may still see a few sugar crystals, which is okay.

The hot pectin mixture
dissolves the sugar as you
stir for 3 minutes.

Step 6: Using a canning funnel, fill the jelly jars, leaving 1/2-inch headroom for expansion in the freezer. Place the lids on, then let stand undisturbed at room temperature for 24 hours. Freezer jam will last for 3 weeks in the refrigerator, or 1 year in the freezer. When using your jam from the freezer, place it in the fridge to thaw, then use it up within 3 weeks. 

One batch yields up to 6
8-ounce jelly jars of jam.

See how easy freezer jam is? In my family, we've got this process down so it only takes about 15 minutes per batch. We like to make several batches in one day, enough to last the year.

Some final thoughts...

Freezer jam is so easy to make and so delicious. Why not make a day of it? Visit a u-pick farm (or a farmers market), buy several flats of berries and get jammin'! Then you too can enjoy one of the best flavors of summer--all year 'round! 

Until next time...

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl; it's a verb, because it's what you do."