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Hot Herb Trends – Holiday Enchantment with Herbal Syrups

Imagine that you’re throwing a small dinner party and your guests have started to arrive. Alongside your alcohol and juice offerings, the makeshift bar is set up with a plethora of decoratively labeled bottles. These bottles contain simple syrups of varying colors and flavors for you and your guests to experiment with. Simple syrups are a sure fire way to impress your guests with a Martha Stewart-like level of detail. Start washing out those old jam, jelly, and applesauce jars, grab a bunch of fresh herbs, and let your imagination run wild!

The universal ratio for basic simple syrup is 1:1, or one cup of water to one cup of granulated sugar. You can really play around with that proportion starting with a ½ cup of sugar and increase the sugar all the way up to two cups to suit your taste. The great thing about simple syrups is that once they are jarred in a clean bottle, they will last in your fridge for months. For the holidays, you can use them in cocktails, punches, fresh juices, teas, and even to brush over some of your favorite holiday cakes and breads. What about lemon verbena syrup over your Grandma’s poundcake recipe, basil syrup over carmelized oranges, or a quick cocktail of fresh orange and grapefruit juices, a dash of bitters, two shots of dark rum and some red basil syrup? It really is that easy.

Any fresh herb can be used in simple syrups. Just be sure to boil your solution until all the sugar dissolves. Once the liquid is clear, turn off the heat and add the herb or herb combination you desire. Start by steeping a small handful of washed herbs for at least 5-10 to slightly weaken the flavor. Unlike some teas, a longer steeping time will not cause bitterness. (I once forgot my red basil in the pot overnight and the syrup was just fine.)

Here are some favorite holiday syrup recipes:

Cranberry Thyme Syrup:
2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries, washed
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
Place water, sugar and cranberries in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium.
Once all the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat and add thyme sprigs.
Cover your pan and steep to desired strength.
Strain out your thyme and cranberries, and allow to cool.
Bottle and refrigerate.

Rosemary Syrup with Candied Rosemary Sprigs
For rosemary syrup, just add 1-2 branches of rosemary to a 2 cup batch of basic simple syrup.
For the candied rosemary, you will need:
1 large plate
1 sheet pan/cookie sheet
1 small artist’s paintbrush
3-4 branches of your best looking rosemary
2-3 pasteurized egg whites
1 cup of white sugar (superfine will work best, but standard granulated is fine also)
1 sheet of waxed or parchment paper
Set up a large plate with the sugar spread in a line to loosely follow the shape of the rosemary.
Wash the rosemary in cool, running water.
Dry completely on a clean cotton dishtowel or paper towels.
Gently whip your egg whites to froth with a fork.
Take each branch of rosemary and completely brush with egg whites. More of the sugar will stick if you can gently get into the crevices.
Note: Do NOT dip the branches into the egg whites though; the branches will pick up different amounts of egg whites and the result will be a lot of inconsistency on each branch.
Turn all sides of the branch in the sugar. You can repeat this two or three times to get more of the sugar to stick.
Gently shake off your branch and place on the parchment paper. Turn your sprigs periodically to get all sides to dry.

Citrus Peel and Sage Syrup
Try a few tablespoons of this added to your next vinaigrette.
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 3-inch peels of orange, lemon, and/or grapefruit
1 sage leaf
In a small saucepan, make your basic simple syrup recipe and add your peels and sage leaf while it’s still hot.
Cover your pan and steep to desired strength.
Strain out your peels and sage, and allow to cool.
Bottle and refrigerate.