I greatly appreciate all of you that have read my column over the years and continue to read it. It is a real bonus when I receive a phone call or email prompted from reading my column, with your questions or suggestions. I am very open to your suggestions for column topics but I won’t promise to always write on the suggested subject.
This week’s column is a result of one of those conversations. I started talking to a caller about canning and then the conversation went to simple syrup solutions and that took me to the chemistry of cooking and sugar.
Most of you know about sweet tea as we have been influenced by all of our southern friends and trips to the south. Sometimes I think some of the sweet tea I have been served is more like tea syrup, very sweet and has a thickness about it. When many cooks are preparing beverages of any kind they often make a simple syrup solution. This solution is a 2 to 1 ratio of sugar to water, it sweetens drinks without diluting them, but sugar crystals can form if the water is only just brought to a boil.
When you prepare a syrup with such a high ratio of sugar to water, often referred to as a rich syrup, the chances of sugar molecules clustering and crystallizing is high. Simple syrup crystallizes when enough of the sugar molecules stick to one another that they become insoluble in the water.
As I thought through this process I thought about the heating of the water, the length of time the solution is heated and possibly what could be added. The process of cooking is really science. There are some ingredients that are supposed to prevent crystals from forming such as lemon juice, which is an acid, and also cream of tartar. They both work but only short term and if you increase the quantity of either to be effective you taste them. So the answer is the length of time spent heating the sugar and water solution, which makes the syrup.
To prevent the crystals from forming you need to prolong the heating or cooking time. Instead of just bringing the sugar and water to a boil you need to simmer it covered for 10 minutes. In this process you inverted enough of the sugar and water without changing the flavor. So here is a method to try: Bring 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan, I prefer the pan to be stainless steel. Cover it and let it simmer for 10 minutes, then let it cool completely. The syrup you made can be refrigerated for at least two weeks without crystallization. So now you know the science behind making a syrup that doesn’t crystallize. Enjoy whatever beverage you make.
Mary Ann Lienhart-Cross is a Purdue Extension educator in Elkhart County. She can be reached at 574-533-0554 or at lienhart@purdue.edu.
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