· Ingredients: Fresh strawberries (about 1kg, hulled), granulated white sugar (equal weight to strawberries roughly), and fresh lemon juice (from 1 whole lemon).
· Equipment: Large sterilized glass jar with an airtight lid, a heavy-bottomed saucepan, a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, and a glass bottle for final storage.
📝 Full Recipe Preparation Steps
- Maceration (The Jar Step): In the large jar, layer the strawberries with sugar and add the lemon juice. Cover and shake well, then set aside for 12–24 hours to let the fruit release its natural juices and form a thick, pink syrup.
- Gentle Cooking: Pour the entire mixture into the saucepan. Bring to a light simmer over low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring gently to avoid a thick sugar paste forming at the bottom.
- Straining: Cool slightly, then pass the mixture through a strainer into a clean container. You can press the berries to extract all the liquid or reserve them as a sweet strawberry jam.
- Bottling & Storage: Pour the finished syrup into the bottles shown in the image. Store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks, or freeze the liquid for up to 6 months.
💡 Practical Tips
· Serving Suggestions: To match the drink in the photo, pour 1 part of the strawberry syrup with 3 parts of cold water, milk, or sparkling water over ice .
· Ice-Making Trick: To ensure the drink doesn’t get watery, consider freezing some of the syrup in ice cube trays and use those to cool your beverage instead of regular ice.