John Taylerson

Not just for coffee

You may have heard of coffee syrups, but did you know how versatile they are? They have so many uses they really are a must for anyone’s kitchen cupboard.

It is said that flavoured syrups are the coffee bean’s best friend. Good syrup adds wonderful texture and depth to your drink so this is hard to deny. With such an incredible range of available flavours out there, you can be as creative as you like.  But it’s not just coffee, they can be added to tea too. A couple of dashes of fruity syrups, some brewed tea and a slug of ice and you have yourself a Tropical Breeze iced tea.

And why stop there? Flavoured syrups can be used in some many ways.

In Italy, pavement cafes keep carbonated soda water behind their polished bars. Customers like to sit and watch the world go by without resorting to endless alcoholic sustenance. Instead the barista creates delicious light mocktails adding one or two syrups to the soda. Some more adventurous ones add a splash of lime syrup to light beers and in some countries it has been know for bars to serve beer with strawberry syrup!

For children, flavoured syrups are excellent slush or granite bases. On a scorching summer’s day there is nothing better. So keeping some in the cupboard ensures you can knock one up in no time. Grab your ice cubes from the freezer, wrap them in a clean drying-up cloth and crush with bottom of a sturdy mug or glass (or, if the mood takes you, a small hammer). Put the crushed ice in a tall cup and pour your chosen syrup(s) over. In goes a straw and outside they go.

If you are a bit of a purist when it comes to tea and coffee, then consider making a frappe°.  What’s a frappe°? Well it depends where you are in the world. It could be a frozen coffee drink, a fruit drink with shaved ice, or an ice cold milkshake. In the UK, it tends to be the latter. It always involves being cold, usually with ice and is always refreshing, especially when the sun is out.

Of course, flavoured syrups don’t just work with drinks. They make wonderful, dessert sauces. Chocolate or caramel syrups are fabulous when poured over cold ice cream sundaes or drizzled over pancakes and waffles.  Even a plate of fruit can benefit from a few drops of sweet syrup. Syrups can also be used to intensify the flavour of cake, muffin and pudding recipes. 

It would be a mistake to think only sweet syrups have a place in the kitchen. Spicy syrups like ginger provide piquant marinades for salads, cold meats and fish.

So, you don’t need to be a culinary expert to incorporate syrups into your drinking and eating habits. Instead let your imagination run riot (or, if you are feeling a little nervous, download some recipes from the Internet). The possibilities are endless and with such fantastic flavours to choose from you can’t go wrong.

Article Tags: Flavoured Syrups

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