Melon Simple Syrup
This fruity syrup can be used to sweeten iced tea or lemonade, add summery flavor to sparkling water, in cocktails or drizzled over fruit salads or yogurt. While almost any melon variety works for this recipe, including honeydew, Charentais, Canary, muskmelon, Sharlyn or Galia, cantaloupe offers an especially rich, deeply sweet and musky full-bodied flavor.
Ingredients
- ½ ripe cantaloupe
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Scoop out the seeds from the melon half and cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes. Measure out 1 cup of cantaloupe cubes. Add the melon, sugar and water to a pot and bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes to extract maximum flavor from the melon. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Set a fine-mesh sieve over a glass measuring cup with a spout and pour in the contents of the pan, pressing gently against the solids with a rubber spatula to extract all the liquid. Once the syrup is completely cooled, pour into a clean jar to store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
- You can freeze the syrup in ice cube trays and store the cubes in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before use.
