Syrup is a solution of sugar and water.
Syrup is sugar that is dissolved in a certain amount of water and is placed on the fire to acquire a consistency similar to that of syrup . It can be said, in this way, that syrup is a solution of sugar and water that was cooked to thicken .
The Persian expression mey be , 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 into Hispanic Arabic as almíba . Finally, the concept arrived in Spanish as syrup .
Syrup characteristics
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 are combined, the syrup can be hard or almost liquid.
In order to prepare a good syrup, you must take into account a series of tricks like these:
- You should not use cold water, but natural water (room temperature).
- The syrup must be cooked over low heat.
- The spoon used for the entire syrup making process is recommended to be made of wood because it will not influence the temperature and will also preserve the flavor of all the products.
- Syrups that have a lower amount of sugar must be kept cold.
- If you consider that it will crystallize when it cools, you can apply a little vinegar or lemon juice.
- There are those who, instead of using sugar to prepare the syrup, opt for honey .
The syrup is usually used to coat desserts and other preparations.
Its uses
The uses of syrup are multiple in the field of gastronomy. It can be used to make candies, to cover cakes, as a base for desserts and to preserve fruits , to name a few possibilities.
Many fruits, in fact, are usually sold 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 is cooled, it is placed in sterilized jars so that they can be preserved for an extended period of time. Peaches in syrup , squash in syrup ( pumpkin in syrup ), figs in syrup and chestnuts in syrup are some of the most popular preparations of this type.
Other uses of the term syrup
We cannot ignore the existence of a flamenco club in the city of Córdoba ( Andalusia – Spain ) called El Almíbar .
In Aranjuez , meanwhile, there is a restaurant – gastrobar that also responds to the name Almíbar . It was launched at the beginning of the 80s 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 grilled cod brandade, broken eggs with ham and crispy potatoes, and sautéed broad beans with artichokes and ham, among others.