busybee Food

Spicy ginger syrup

I made this for potent, spicy ginger ale. It has quite the kick to it.

Ingredients:

• A large amount of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ tsp crushed red chili flake (optional)
• ½ tsp peppercorns (optional)
• ½ tsp cardamom (optional)
• ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
• Other spices as you see fit (last time I used coriander seed, for example)
• Lime juice

Directions:

1. Peel and slice the ginger
2. Put everything except the lime juice in a pot
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low until the syrup has reduced to a nice consistency
4. Allow to cool, then strain into a container, and add lime juice to taste
5. Toss the sliced ginger in sugar and store in a container to become candied ginger later

Over time you’ll probably want to add more sugar to the candied ginger, or perhaps put it in a dehydrator or a low oven for a while.

Cranberry syrup

This one’s a bit more experimental, but was also much easier to make as there’s significantly less prep involved. It’s a great use for leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving or the like.

Ingredients:

• One bag frozen cranberries
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• Citric acid
• Yuzu extract or other citrus juice (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the cranberries, water, and sugar in a pot
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer
3. After the cranberries pop, mash it all up with a potato masher or the like
4. Allow to reduce to a syrup, occasionally tasting
5. Add citric acid for tartness, and the optional yuzu extract (or other citrus juice, such as orange) for added flavor
6. Allow to cool, then strain into a container
7. Retain the strained solids as jelly or relish (goes great with roasted meat or reasonable facsimiles thereof, as well as with Swedish meatballs)