Mint Simple Syrup

SUMMER: Mint Simple Syrup

Jars: Ball

Happy Monday! Hope you had an amazing weekend!

I don’t know about you but I LOVE summer. Maybe it is because here in New Jersey we suffer through a horrendous winter.  Or maybe it is because I was born and raised in Los Angeles where the weather was always warm. Who knows?

One of my summer essentials is lemonade. It is one of my all time favorite beverages.  To me, there is really is nothing better then a cool glass of cold lemonade. It is so refreshing. I have been looking for ways to change up my lemonade routine and decided that mint simple syrup would be just the trick. I have a large mint plant on my balcony. There it gets just the right amount of sunlight and it just keeps growing and growing. I didn’t plant it in the community garden as I was told that mint spreads like wildfire! I didn’t want it to stunt the growth of everything else!

I love the smell of mint and it adds such a nice brightness to food and beverages. I had never made simple syrup but it seemed easy enough. It was ridiculously easy and required maybe 8-10 minutes of my time. Right now it is chilling in the fridge in Ball containers. I cannot wait to add it to my lemonade tonight!

Ingredients:

White Sugar, 1/2 cup

Water, 1/2 cup

Mint, 1/2 cup chopped

Directions:

1. Add the water to a pot with the sugar. Bring the water and sugar to a boil, mixing with a whisk to break up the sugar until it dissolves. Once it comes to a boil pour the mixture over the mint in a bowl, until the mint is submerged.

2. Cover the bowl with a plate to keep the heat in. Allow to cool to room temperature.

3. Once cooled, strain the mixture, keeping only the syrup.

4. Store the syrup in an airtight container, like these adorable Ball jars, in your fridge and use sparingly. It can be very sweet!

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