What is Syrup?

The Persian expression syrup, which according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) can be translated as “quince nectar”, came to classical Arabic as maybah. Later, this term passed to the Hispanic Arab as syrup. Finally, the concept came to Castilian as syrup.

Syrup is the sugar that is dissolved in a certain amount of water and that is brought to the fire to acquire a consistency similar to that of syrup. In this way, it can be said that the syrup is a solution of sugar and water that was cooked to thicken it.

The characteristics of the syrup depend on the time spent cooking and the amount of sugar that dissolves in the water. Depending on how these two factors combine, the syrup can be hard or almost liquid.

In order to prepare a good syrup, you have to take into account a series of tricks like these:
-You don’t have to use cold water, but natural, as they say, of the time.
-The syrup must be cooked over low heat.
-The spoon that is used for the entire process of making the syrup is recommended to be made of wood. Why? Because it will not influence the temperature and, in addition, it will preserve the flavor of all products.
-The syrups with the least amount of sugar are essential to keep cold.
-If it is considered that when cooling it will crystallize, you can apply a little vinegar or even lemon juice.
-There are those who instead of using sugar to prepare the syrup, opt for honey.

The uses of syrup are multiple in the field of gastronomy. It can be used to make candies, to coat cakes, as a dessert base and to preserve fruits, to name a few possibilities.

Many fruits, in fact, are usually marketed in syrup. To obtain this product, the fruit is cut into slices or cubes and cooked with the syrup. The process causes the water in the fruit to pass into the sugars in the syrup. Finally, once the preparation cools, it is placed in sterilized jars so that they can be kept for an extended period of time. The peaches in syrup, the pumpkin in syrup (pumpkin in syrup), the figs in syrup and chestnuts in syrup are some of the preparations of such greater popularity.

In the same way, we cannot overlook the existence of a flamenco club from the city of Córdoba (Andalusia – Spain) which is called El Almíbar.

What’s more, even in Aranjuez there is a Restaurant – Gastrobar that also responds to the name of Syrup. It was launched in the early 80’s and since then it has managed to consolidate itself and become a reference venue. All this thanks to its great wine list, attractive facilities and, above all, a list of top-quality recipes. These include the brandade of cod gratin, the broken eggs with ham and crispy potatoes or the beans sautéed with artichokes and ham, among others.

Syrup