Syrup

Syrup is a thick product made of sugar and water that derives its flavor from fruits, herbs, edible flowers, vegetables, spices, or flavorings.

Syrup is a viscous product made of sugar and water that derives its aroma from fruits, herbs, edible flowers, vegetables, spices, or flavorings.

What is meant by syrup?

The word is older than any regulation. Through the Old French sirop, it leads to the Arabic sharab, drink—literally something to be drunk—and to the verb shariba, he drank.

This breadth still exists today. The Fruit Juice and Refreshing Beverage Ordinance defines fruit juice, fruit pulp, and fruit nectar; it has no definition for syrup. The word appears there only in Appendix 3, Number 1, where fructose syrup is mentioned as a permitted ingredient. Thus, "syrup" alone is not a protected term. For fruit syrup, however, there are rules.

The Guidelines for Fruit Products describe it under Number 5.1. Anyone selling fruit syrup puts the type of fruit before the word, such as raspberry syrup, or calls it fruit syrup and specifies the fruit type. And they must comply with the figures stated further below. If a bottle only says "syrup," it says nothing about the contents.

How is a syrup made?

According to Number 5.1.1 of the guidelines, fruit syrup is made from fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice, fruit, or fruit extracts, using types of sugar, with or without boiling, and generally from only one type of fruit. Within this single sentence are two methods of preparation.

One presses. The other extracts: For flower syrup, you put fresh or dried flowers into a heat-resistant bowl and pour boiling water over them until the aroma is in the liquid. Stir in sugar and citric acid until both have dissolved. Strain, bring to a boil, fill into hot-rinsed, preheated bottles to the brim, and seal immediately. The citric acid further supports shelf life.

How much sugar is needed is calculated soberly by the Arenenberg Education and Consulting Center. In Switzerland, syrup must contain at least 60 percent sugar to ensure shelf life. A mixture of 1 kilogram of sugar and 1 liter of fruit juice or flavored water does not reach this value and is legally a sugary extract; for 1 kilogram of sugar, there should only be 7.5 to 8 deciliters of liquid. Measurement is done with a refractometer: A bee balm syrup made from 10 grams of dried flowers, 7.5 deciliters of water, 1 kilogram of sugar, and 20 grams of citric acid reaches a 66 percent sugar content.

Both paths are used side-by-side at Alpe Pragas in South Tyrol. The raspberry syrup contains 50 percent raspberry juice, sugar, and lemon juice. The elderflower syrup contains 50 percent elderflower extract made from water, sugar, and elderflowers, plus sugar and lemon juice. One is fruit, one is extract.

What is the difference between juice and syrup?

Fruit juice is sold undiluted, and sugar types are not even on the list of permitted ingredients for it. Fruit nectar is made with water, may contain up to 20, 15, or 10 percent of the total weight in sugar types or honey depending on the fruit group, and provides at least 25 to 50 percent juice or fruit pulp depending on the fruit type. How to read this on the shelf is explained in our guide Juice or Nectar.

Syrup reverses the ratio. For 1000 grams of fruit syrup, at least 350 grams of fruit juice must be used, including from fruit juice concentrate, and the finished syrup must contain at least 65 percent (m/m) soluble dry matter, measured with a refractometer at 20 degrees Celsius. Per kilogram, that is around 650 grams, essentially sugar; the LGL Bavaria cites a fruit content of at least 35 percent for this. Nothing is fermented, and the alcohol content does not exceed 1 gram per kilogram.

In short: You drink juice as it is. You measure out syrup.

How to tell what is inside from the list of ingredients

Turn the bottle around and read the first line. If a juice or extract is listed there, the flavor comes from the fruit or flower. Aroma extracts are obtained from natural raw materials using solvents such as water, alcohol, or oil, and a natural raspberry aroma must consist of at least 95 percent raspberry. The list of ingredients does not have to distinguish between the categories; legally, the word "aroma" is sufficient.

The second look should be at the order. An ingredient that a product advertises, but which is added only in a small quantity for flavoring, does not require quantity labeling. So if the praised fruit is far down the list and lacks a percentage, there is little of it inside.

The color also tells a story. Red fruit syrups may be tinted with other coloring fruit juices, up to a maximum of 10 percent (v/v) of the total fruit juice used; the guidelines mention cherry juice in raspberry syrup. A fruit syrup has the color of its fruit, is clear outside of citrus fruits, free of cloudiness and crystals, and tastes typically of the fruit and sweet, without a musty note.

That the sugar does not have to come from cane is shown by the Ginger Syrup from pHenomenal Drinks in Hamburg: agave syrup, 30 percent ginger juice, orange juice, tartaric acid, spice extracts, and salt, with all labeled ingredients from controlled organic cultivation with the control number DE-ÖKO-039.

From the spoon into the glass and back to the fridge

A syrup is a supply of flavor that you dose. Pour a spoonful into a glass, fill with still or sparkling water, and taste before adding more. It can always be made sweeter, but you cannot go back. The same spoon works over berries and warm plums.

In the bar, the quantities are prescribed. The International Bartenders Association lists the Mai Tai with 15 ml of orgeat alongside two types of rum, orange curaçao, freshly squeezed lime juice, and 7.5 ml of simple syrup. Orgeat is an almond syrup and therefore not a fruit syrup within the meaning of the guidelines.

Keep the bottle in a cool, dark place and use it up by the next season. After opening, it belongs in the refrigerator; Bacanha states on its labels that it should be consumed within two months of opening.

And if everything turns out too sweet, acid helps. With a shrub, vinegar is added alongside the sugar, and the acidity comes from apple cider vinegar instead of added citric acid. A spoonful of that in cold water, a sprig of mint, and the glass is on the table before the salad is dressed.