Is lemonade better when made with simple syrup?
On a hot summer day and with a basketful of lemons I often want a nice cold glass of lemonade. A lot of recipes suggest making lemonade with simple syrup, which requires cooking, whereas other recipes just have stirred-in sugar.
What exactly are the benefits of making lemonade (or limeade) with simple syrup versus just stirring in sugar?
Best Answer
Simple Syrup is sugar that is has been dissolved in water. Heating speeds the process, and also allows the water to "absorb" more sugar. I don't remember the chemistry of why the sugar doesn't crystallize at room temp, but it doesn't. It is typically made in a 1:1 mixture .. heat a cup of water to boiling, add a cup of sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat, allow to cool.
It is used in cold drinks like lemonade and iced tea because granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold liquids. It requires a lot of mixing, and the saturation point is low, so people who like lots of sugar can't get enough to dissolve to get the taste they desire.
Note #1: this is why Southern-style Sweet Tea is sweetened while the tea is still hot.
Note #2: The sweetness of 1 tsp of sugar is not equivalent to the sweetness of 1 tsp of simple syrup. You will have to find your particular taste point.
Note #3: It can be flavored with just about any flavor extract, such as lemon, orange, peppermint, vanilla, almond, and so on. As I understand it, this is typically how flavored iced teas are made.
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Why do we put lemon in sugar syrup?
The citric acid in lemon juice hydrolyzes the sucrose molecules into glucose and fructose as you heat the sugar. The water in the lemon juice is also part of this process. This mixture of monosaccharides is much less crystalline in the same way that most mixtures are less crystalline than pure substances.How can I make my lemonade better?
You could try mangoes, pineapples, cherries, or even experiment with something totally unique. For the ingredients, fresh mint leaves can be found in the produce section of your grocery store, or you can buy a whole mint plant for around the same price.How do you keep lemonade from getting bitter?
The secret ingredient is salt, which removes any bitterness. Don't be tempted to use reconstituted lemon juice or to add the juice until the sugar water is completely chilled!What is the best preservative for lemonade?
The sodium benzoate is useful as, among other things, a mold inhibitor. Potassium benzoate did not provide shelf life exceeding 175 days, and therefore sodium benzoate is preferred. It is preferred that the sodium benzoate be added at a level exceeding 250 parts per million and not exceeding 1200 parts per million.LEMONADE RECIPE FOR BUSINESS | SECRET FOR THE BEST LEMONADE SUGAR SYRUP
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Answer 2
I can't address "better," but it may be different. When you make simple syrup, you boil the sugar water for some amount of time. The effect of boiling the sugar water is to break down some of the sucrose into its component sugars, glucose and fructose. The result is somewhat sweeter than the same amount of merely-dissolved sucrose.
Answer 3
The syrup makes it much easier to sweeten the lemonade. When on stirs in granulated sugar, one has to mix for a while, which is kind of hard to do with all those ice cubes in the glass. With the syrup, a few strokes of the spoon do the job. In South East Asia you often get a jar with simple syrup to sweeten your ice tea and I always thought it would work great with lemonade.
To make the simple syrup, dissolve a cup of sugar with a cup of water in a pan over medium heat. Once completely dissolved, take it off the burner, let it cool, and place in a pouring jar.
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