raspberry mint syrup

It might sound like an odd mix, especially if you’re thinking of store-bought syrups or candy. But on a hot day (or a during a week-long heatwave) this syrup has a surprisingly light flavor that’s just refreshing. We’ve spread our syrup on pancakes, toast, poundcake, and added it to lemonade.

All kinds of possibilities.

I have been thinking about syrups for lemonade – inspired by the intriguing lavender syrup + lemonade recipe posted at beauty that moves – as well as glazes for desserts. Flipped through my cookbooks and saw recipes for mint lemonade, raspberry lemonade, glazes and simple syrups, etc. Finally found a good base recipe and adapted from there. Very yum! And Bebe gives it a ten sticky fingers of approval.

Raspberry Mint Syrup (makes 1/4 cup)
adapted from strawberry glaze recipe in Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cooking by John Folse

Ingredients
1/2 C sugar
1/4 water
1/2 C fresh raspberries, rinsed
2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves, rinsed

Directions
Combine water and sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is mostly dissolved and mixture begins to boil. Add berries and mint, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Stir occasionally. It may also help to crush the berries with your stirring spoon, but that’s optional.

Remove from heat and strain* from pot into whatever container you’ll use for the syrup. The mixture will be very hot, so use caution to prevent burns. If you’re using a glass container, make sure it is clean and warm/hot.

Discard fruit and mint pulp. Set syrup aside and let cool 15-20 minutes or until it reaches room temperature. Enjoy!

Note
For straining the mixture, I used a small mesh strainer set over a funnel and into a small jar.