Lemon Verbena And Herbal Simple Syrups For Lemonade Etc!

Total Time: 15 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 fresh vanilla bean
• fresh herbs such as lemon verbena leaf (or rosemary sprig or mint leaf or basil leaves)
• lemon peel strip
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger

Recipe

• 1 in a saucepan combine water and sugar. bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• 2 add one of the infusions; boil gently, uncovered, for 2 minutes more.
• 3 remove from heat; cover and cool in saucepan for 1 hour. remove and discard infusion ingredients.
• 4 transfer syrup to a clean covered storage container. refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or may be frozen. makes 2 cups syrup.
• 5 variations:.
• 6 vanilla infusion: add one fresh vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, to the hot sugar-water mixture. if desired, after cooling, remove the vanilla bean and use the tip of a small knife to scrape the seeds from the beans into the syrup (flecks of dark seeds will color the crystal-clear syrup).
• 7 fresh herb infusion: add three 3-to-4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary; 3/4 cup lemon-verbena or mint leaves, slightly crushed; or 3/4 cup basil leaves, slightly crushed, to the hot sugar-water mixture.
• 8 lemon-ginger infusion: add three 1x3-inch strips of lemon peel and a 1-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced, to the hot sugar-water mixture.