How to make sugar syrup correctly. From sugar syrup to caramel

Sugar syrup is an essential ingredient for making jam, soaking cake layers and making creams at home. Not everyone knows how to cook it properly and what nuances should be taken into account when cooking it. Boiling sweet syrup using "about" proportions of sugar and water often results in the jam coming out overcooked and very sweet or, on the contrary, fermented and moldy.

For this reason, it is necessary to clearly understand how to cook syrup for jam from various fruits, since their saturation, in turn, has big influence the need to use syrup, not granulated sugar.

Sugar syrup - how to cook

As a rule, sweet syrup for jam from apricots, cherries, strawberries and some other saturated fruits is not used, since they, including from the usual stirring with sugar, provide the necessary proportion of juice.

There are certain aspects of how to cook sugar syrup and in order for it to turn out excellent, you should keep some proportions.

We need to take: water and sugar in balance one to one and a container with a wide bottom and thick walls (brass or copper containers are best, but stainless steel utensils can also be used).

Mix these ingredients, then put boil on a medium, even flame. As soon as the foam forms, it must be removed, and then remove the remaining sugar on the walls of the vessel so that they do not burn and lumps do not appear in the syrup.

It is also important to remember that you need water stir constantly(in order to avoid the yellowness of the sugar). After the sugar has completely dissolved, stop stirring and cook the syrup until tender.

In order to find out the readiness of the sugar syrup, the following steps should be taken: put in a small spoonful of syrup - before that, soak it in cold water and, dip in a container of ice water... In connection with how the syrup will behave and determine its readiness (samples).

Features of the use of syrups for jam

It is important to know that the foam must be completely removed from the syrup before berries, fruits or nuts are placed in it. Then, as the granulated sugar unfolds, it is impossible to lower practically any objects and means of nutrition into the solution, otherwise it will crystallize, become cloudy, or completely turn into a lump.

Delicious sweet syrups are often used when making jam, they are impregnated with candied fruits, nuts, etc. In addition, syrups are widely used in the alcohol industry in the manufacture of wines, liqueurs, etc.

Wine made at home, for example, made with a solution of water and sugar, begins to ferment much faster and more actively. In order to cook jam at home, delicious syrups of various citadels of snow-white sugar are used.

Traditional syrup for jam from berries, not very juicy and sugary, contains the following proportion per kilogram of fruit: water - 1-2 tbsp. (the amount of juice in the fruits themselves is taken into account), granulated sugar - 1 kilogram, citric acid - half a teaspoon according to taste.

Method for preparing invert sugar syrup

When the sugar solution is being prepared for pouring the fruit, there is no need to put acid. That's right, boiled jam syrup is usually colorless and thick... For quick cooking of the jam, the proportion of sugar in the syrup can be changed with honey, which must be put in a barely cooled mixture, in the absence of boiling.

For example, jam with strawberries: spill 1 kilogram of full ripe, strong, berries with barely cooled syrup from 1 not completely filled tbsp. water, 0.5 kilograms of sugar and 400 milliliters of honey.

Set on flame, get out until bubbling and boil for 2-3 minutes with active bubbling. Pour into containers and immediately close the airtight lid. Additional sterilization is not necessary. Use the prepared sugar solution in accordance with the recipe for making jam - warm or chilled.

Sugar syrup It is used for the preparation of various dishes: impregnation of cake layers, fondants, caramel and jam. For each dish, a certain type of syrup is suitable, which is measured by the concentration of sugar in the water.

You can cook sugar syrup according to the classic scheme - the proportion of sugar and water is 1: 1. If a thick sugar syrup is required (for example, for caramel), the amount of water can be reduced to shorten the cooking time of the syrup.

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Syrup preparation

To make sugar syrup, you must:

  • Dissolve the required amount of sugar in water. It is best to choose a saucepan with a thick bottom to keep the heat in;
  • Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly (so that the sugar does not burn). As soon as the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring must be stopped in order to avoid crystallization of the syrup;
  • Remove foam as it appears. For convenience, you can put the container with syrup on the fire so that it is heated only on one side (the foam will go not to the center, but to one side of the pan). There will be less foam if you boil the syrup with refined sugar or crushed sugar;
  • Remove the sugar crystals from the edge of the pan (so as not to burn) and boil the syrup over high heat to the desired consistency.

Samples

Syrup with different concentration of sugar is used to prepare of various kinds dishes. Usually there are 6 samples that determine the readiness of the sugar syrup:

  • To obtain the syrup, the first sample is enough to boil the sugar for 1-2 minutes after removing the foam. The syrup remains liquid and retains the original proportions of sugar and water. It is used to impregnate dough cakes, compotes;
  • The second sample becomes sticky. If you drop it on a cold plate, the drop will not spread. If you press the drop with a spoon and lift it up, a thin thread will be pulled. This syrup is suitable for hard fruit jam, jelly;
  • The third test is characterized by the fact that a thick, thick thread stretches behind the spoon. This syrup sample is used to different kind preserves, jams, glaze;
  • The fourth sample allows you to mold a soft ball of syrup immersed in cold water. The fourth grade syrup is suitable for making nougat, fondant and similar products;
  • The fifth sample differs from the fourth in that the ball is solid. Iris and meringue are prepared from it;
  • At the sixth sample, the sugar is caramelized. The syrup immersed in cold water hardens and does not bend, but breaks. From this syrup, candy, caramel and other solid products are obtained.

If the syrup is boiled down even more, it acquires a brown tint. The product in this form is used for decorating desserts, making drinks, creams. Other samples are intermediate stages in the boiling down of the sugar syrup.

The success of a dish is made up of many little things: each ingredient must be properly prepared and added at a certain moment. Today the portal "Your Povarenok" will tell you how to make syrup for kutya, since it is one of the most important components of this Christmas meal.

Below you will find several variations of this sweet sauce, as well as tips for adding it to porridge.

Why do you need syrup for kutya and when you need to add it to porridge

First, let's figure out why syrup is added to traditional kutyu at all and how important this ingredient is for a dish.

Considering classic recipe this porridge, then you can see that all the ingredients in it are relatively dry: crumbly Wheat groats, poppy seeds, nuts and dried fruits. By mixing these products together, it is simply impossible to get food that could be eaten with your hands, as is sometimes done in tribute to tradition.

In addition, the syrup collects the aromas of all the ingredients and combines them together, and also saturates the cereal with this rich flavor "bouquet". That is why they add sweet sauce into porridge at the very end of cooking kutya, because by this moment the cereals should have cooled down a little and dried fruits, poppy seeds and nuts should already be present in it.

The classic recipe for sugar syrup for kutya

Ingredients

  • - 4 tbsp. l. + -
  • - 6 tbsp. l. + -

How to properly prepare do-it-yourself sugar syrup for kutya

  1. Pour our water into a small saucepan and set it to warm over medium heat.
  2. When the water starts to boil, gently add a little sugar and stir constantly.
  3. As soon as the solution begins to boil confidently, reduce the heat to minimum and continue stirring.
  4. Cook our syrup for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool slightly. During this time, it will need to be mixed several times so that it thickens evenly.

Pour the finished syrup directly into kutya or first mix it with nuts and dried fruits, and only then add it to the porridge.

The thickness of this sauce can be adjusted by changing the proportions of sugar and water. So, if you take sand and water in the same volume, then the syrup will turn out to be more viscous. Increasing only the amount of sugar will make the syrup look more like a fudge.

Recipe for caramel syrup for kutya

If you are making kutya with rice, then be sure to pay attention to this recipe. The fact is that the original taste of burnt sugar and caramel goes well with the taste of this cereal. In addition, such kutia will turn out to be quite unusual and more fragrant.

Ingredients

  • White granulated sugar - 4 tbsp. l .;
  • Purified water - 6 tbsp. l .;
  • Vanilla sugar - a pinch.


How to quickly and easily make caramel syrup for kutya at home

  1. We take a dry saucepan or stewpan and put on low heat, immediately add 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar here and, stirring constantly, heat. Our goal is to obtain a pleasant creamy color from sugar.
  2. As soon as the sand begins to darken, pour in water as carefully as possible (it is advisable to warm it up a little beforehand, but be careful - splashes are possible), pour in the remaining sugar and add vanilla sugar.
  3. Stir constantly and continue to simmer.
  4. As soon as the syrup began to thicken, remove the vessel, remove the foam, if necessary, and filter the solution.

After a couple of minutes, pour our syrup into kutya and mix everything well.

Delicious syrup for kutya, made from honey

Classic kutya cannot be imagined without honey - it is an integral ingredient of traditional festive porridge, along with dried fruits, wheat and poppy seeds. That is why many chefs prefer to initially prepare honey syrup, thereby simplifying the cooking process.

Ingredients

  • Any honey - 3 tbsp. l .;
  • Purified water - 3 tbsp. l .;
  • Lemon is half a fruit.


How to cook homemade honey syrup for kutya step by step

  1. Pour water into a saucepan or saucepan, put honey here.
  2. We put the vessel on low heat and begin to mix its contents well.
  3. When the honey is completely dissolved in the liquid, let the syrup boil for another minute, after which we remove it from the heat.
  4. Squeeze a teaspoon into the pan lemon juice, mix well and let cool properly.

The main thing to remember when making such a syrup is not to bring it to a boil. Honey contains a large amount of nutrients, and cooking destroys them all.

Unusual kutya syrup with uzvar

Of course, the classic varieties of syrups are good: they are combined with almost any ingredients used for kutya, and are made quite simply. However, if you want to cook not just porridge, but real cooking masterpiece then we recommend using an unusual syrup.

On the basis of the uzvar, it turns out to be many times more aromatic, which is also positively reflected in the taste of the kutya itself.

Ingredients

  • Dry apples - 100 g;
  • Dry pears - 100 g;
  • Prunes - 100 g;
  • White granulated sugar - 2 tbsp. l .;
  • Any honey - 2 tbsp. l .;
  • Purified water - 1 liter.


How to make uzvar-based kutya syrup on your own step by step

  1. First, we need to boil the water, so we pour it into a deep saucepan and put it on high heat.
  2. When the water boils, pour dried fruits into it. They must first be sorted out and washed. Bring it to a boil again.
  3. Reduce the strength of the fire to the minimum, add granulated sugar, mix and cover. So the uzvar should be boiled for another half hour.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and let our broth brew. Usually an hour is enough for this.
  5. V separate container pour 4 tablespoons of the uzvar without dried fruits, add honey here and mix. If necessary, heat it up a little so that the honey dissolves better in the liquid. Pour into kutya and knead everything well.

Knowing how to make uzvar-based kutya syrup, you can create a so-called rich porridge. It is this delicacy that can be especially often seen on the Christmas table among those families who sacredly honor traditions.

In the manufacture of some varieties of flour confectionery and fruit preparations it is often necessary to cook sugar syrups from sugar and water. Flavored sugar syrups are soaked biscuit cakes, cakes, rum women etc. Syrups are prepared as follows.

Pour water into the pan, add granulated sugar, stir with a spoon and put the pan on the stove so that it is very hot on only one side. Foam will collect on the opposite side, which must be periodically removed with a spoon or slotted spoon. When the release of foam stops, put the pan on high heat and evaporate the water until the sugar syrup of the required density (density) is obtained.

To determine the density of the syrup from the first sample (the syrup contains 50% sugar and 50% water), you can use the stickiness of a drop of syrup taken between the thumb and forefinger. To obtain a syrup of this density, you should not bring it to a boil, but limit yourself to dissolving a certain amount of sugar in an equal amount of boiled water.

The density of the syrup in the second sample (the syrup contains 75% sugar and 25% water) is determined as follows. Take a little hot syrup from a saucepan with a spoon and, blowing it off, slightly cool it, then grab a drop of hot syrup between the index and thumb and, blowing over your fingers, quickly move them apart and move them - a thin thread of syrup will appear between the fingers. You can also spoon some syrup over a cold plate with a teaspoon. Then press the bottom of the spoon lightly on the surface of the syrup and immediately lift the spoon up. At the same time, a thin or thick thread of syrup will be pulled behind the spoon.

The third sample is characterized by the appearance of a thick thread of syrup (syrup contains 85% sugar and 15% water).

Further evaporation of the water will increase the density of the syrup. When it contains 90% sugar and 10% water, the density is determined as follows. Scoop boiling syrup from a saucepan with a teaspoon and dipped in cold water. When the syrup has cooled, you can roll a soft ball out of it with your fingers (fourth sample).

If you continue to cook the syrup, and then repeat the same operation, you get a hard ball - the fifth sample.

When only 2% of water remains in the syrup, and the sugar content rises to 98% (sixth test), it is not possible to roll a ball. The hardened sugar that has turned into caramel will break in cold water. When biting, it should not stick to the teeth, but crumble into small pieces. With further cooking, the syrup turns yellow and then black-brown, suffocating smoke begins to stand out. By adding water and stirring quickly, a scorch can be obtained.

Sugar syrup is one of those culinary inventions, which is difficult to do without when decorating numerous desserts, drinks, preparations and other dishes. The material below will help you master classical technology create a sweet substance and learn the subtleties of preparing its possible variations.

How to make sugar syrup?

Classic sugar syrup is an elementary recipe that often consists of only two components: water and sugar. However, at the same time, the technology of its preparation has certain nuances, without which the result can be unpredictable and not always positive.

  1. Sugar syrup can be prepared in different concentrations, depending on the proportions of water and granulated sugar.
  2. The base components are mixed in a container with a thick bottom and walls and heated, always stirring frequently, until all the sugar crystals are dissolved.
  3. As a rule, unless otherwise specified in the prescription, the sweet water boil at moderate boil for ten minutes.
  4. The obtained simple sugar syrup is used immediately or stored in a sterile, hermetically sealed container.

Invert sugar syrup


The classic sugar and water syrup is a universal recipe, but not always satisfying the needs of culinary specialists. Many recipes for baked goods or sweet desserts contain invert syrup, which you will learn how to make in this recipe. The resulting substance can easily be replaced with corn or maple syrup without noticing much of a difference in the final result. It is important to correctly measure the amount of the constituent components using an accurate standard kitchen or jewelry scale.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 350 g;
  • water (boiling water) - 130 ml;
  • citric acid - 2 g;
  • soda - 1.5 g

Preparation

  1. Combine granulated sugar and water heated to a boil in a saucepan, stir thoroughly.
  2. Add to the mixture citric acid, place the base on the plate.
  3. After boiling, with continuous stirring, reduce the heat to the very minimum and cook the contents with barely noticeable signs of boiling for 45 minutes, without closing the container with a lid.
  4. Remove the dishes from the heat, add soda, stir, observing the rapid foaming.
  5. Sugar invert syrup is left at room conditions until the foam cools and settles.

Sugar syrup for biscuit impregnation


Sugar can be prepared in a concise composition or with the addition of alcoholic beverages, flavors and other additives. In the first case, to obtain 100 g of a sweet substance, take 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. A more refined impregnation will turn out if you add a little natural coffee or fruit liqueur.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 4 tbsp. spoons;
  • water - 6 tbsp. spoons;
  • natural espresso or liqueur - 2 tbsp. spoons.

Preparation

  1. Combine granulated sugar and water, heat, stirring often, until the sweet crystals dissolve and the mixture boils.
  2. Cool the sweet liquid, add brewed strong coffee or liqueur, mix and use to soak the cakes.

Sugar syrup for cocktails - recipe


Sugar will be the best solution to give them the desired flavor. The substance is evenly distributed in the thickness of the drink, contributing to the obtaining of ideal taste characteristics. You can use only white granulated sugar to implement the recipe, or combine it with brown cane sugar. If desired, sweet water can be flavored with a cinnamon stick, clove buds, or other spices of your choice.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 1 glass;
  • brown sugar - 1 cup;
  • water - 2 glasses.

Preparation

  1. Heat water in a thick-walled saucepan.
  2. Pour granulated sugar in portions, stirring the mixture until all the sweet crystals are dissolved.
  3. After the contents have boiled, remove the finished sugar syrup from the heat and cool completely.

Sugar syrup for buns


Sugar syrup for greasing buns can be made liquid by taking water and granulated sugar in equal proportions or thicker, increasing the number of sweet crystals by one and a half times. Oftentimes, the sweet substance is prepared from a tea brew, using it instead of water. This fact will not only make the taste of the products brighter, but also give them an amazing ruddy and appetizing appearance.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 250 g;
  • black tea (leaves) - 1 tsp;
  • water - 200 ml.

Preparation

  1. Bring the water to a boil, add dry black tea, leave for 10 minutes, filter.
  2. Mix the fragrant liquid with granulated sugar and bring to a boil with continuous stirring.
  3. Slightly cooled sugar tea syrup is used to grease buns a couple of minutes before the end of baking.

Chak-chak syrup with sugar


The next recipe is for hobbyists. According to the recommendations set out in it, it will be possible to make a thick sugar syrup for chak-chak without honey, which is invariably present in classic variation... The main thing is to boil the sweet base well until you get a viscous caramel and only after that start decorating the sweets.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 0.5 kg;
  • water - 400 ml.

Preparation

  1. Mix sugar and water, put the saucepan on the stove and heat, stirring, until all the crystals are dissolved.
  2. Boil the contents for at least 10 minutes, or until the mixture turns caramel in color and thickens.
  3. Thick sugar syrup is used for its intended purpose, without waiting for it to cool.

Sugar syrup for candied fruits


The preparation of sugar syrup for candied fruits boils down to the fact that the components are simply mixed in a saucepan and heated with stirring to a boil. The resulting mass is used as a base into which prepared fruits or berries are dipped. If the juiciness of the latter is off scale, you can slightly increase the portion of sugar.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 300 g;
  • water - 150 ml.

Preparation

  1. Pour the required amount of granulated sugar into a saucepan, pour in water and, stirring continuously, boil the contents until the crystals dissolve and boil.
  2. The resulting base is used for what follows.

Sugar syrup in the microwave


Here's how to make sugar syrup in the microwave. Depending on the purpose of the sweet substance, the proportions of sugar and water can vary significantly. Often, the components are taken equally and combined in advance in a container suitable for heat treatment in a microwave oven. The presence of special utensils is required, since other vessels can simply crack during the cooking process.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 100 g;
  • water - 100 ml.

Preparation

  1. After mixing the components, place the container in the oven and turn on the device at high power for 1 minute.
  2. Stir the contents, after which they warm it up the same amount or until the desired density is reached.

Milk and sugar syrup


Milk-sugar syrup is a great addition to pancakes, pancakes or other sweet dishes. It can be boiled down to the desired thickness for a gooey, caramelized texture, or left flowing and runny. If desired, the liquid mass can be supplemented with a cinnamon stick or half a vanilla pod, which will give the sweet addition an amazing incomparable aroma.

Ingredients:

  • granulated sugar - 450 g;
  • water - 1 tbsp. spoon;
  • soda - 0.5 tsp;
  • homemade milk - 2 liters.

Preparation

  1. Milk is poured into a container with a volume of at least 6 liters, allowed to boil, granulated sugar is added, stirred until the crystals dissolve.
  2. Remove the vessel from the fire, add the soda dissolved in water, mix and, after the foam settles, return the vessel to the stove.
  3. Add spices as desired and cook the mass until caramel color or desired thickness.

How to make sugar syrup from honey?


Sugar syrup with honey can be made in different thicknesses with and without water. The latter option is often used to design various oriental sweets or other desserts. The liquid substance is served as an additive to pancakes, pancakes, buns, poured over cereals, puddings, casseroles, or served with ice cream. The following is the recipe thick syrup which can be easily made liquid by adding a little water and heating to a boil.