The Easiest Way to Make Simple Syrup

Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle

Yes, making simple syrup can be super easy. But today I’m going to tell you the easiest way ever.

I’m sharing my Easy Simple Syrup Recipe & you might become obsessed. I know I am.

This post contains affiliate links. Go here to read the full (ultra fun) legal disclosure about that.

The hardest part of this recipe might just be deciding what blooms you want to turn into floral simple syrup. Read on for inspiration in that department. 

Easy Simple Syrup Recipe

Some days you want “easy,” right?

In general, I thoroughly believe “simple” doesn’t often mean “easy.” Heck, I named my whole podcast off of this belief.

But sometimes… once in a while… simple gets pretty darn close to being easy. And I’m over here doing a jig in my muck boots I’m so excited about this latest example.

What is simple syrup made of?

Standard simple syrup is made up of sugar and water. But today we’re talking about floral simple syrup, so it’s made up of 3 ingredients, well, kindof. It’s still just water and a sweetener, but the water is first infused with flowers.

Before I discovered how easy it could be to make floral simple syrup, my go-to way to make simple syrup was to boil water and sugar, then simmer the flowers in the sugar water for 10 minutes.

Side note, in case you’re wondering, I used to make lilac syrup with refined sugar. Before I became a sugarmaker and started writing my book, Sweet Maple.

The more I learned about all-natural, complex sugars compared to refined sugar, I try to stick with the good stuff theses days. My #1 go-to is coconut sugar (pssst… it’s made from the flower’s nectar and tastes nothing like coconut) if I can’t use maple syrup, or honey, or make my own maple sugar. 

See my Guide to Choosing the Best Sugar for more thoughts on that.

What are the disadvantages of simple syrup?

The only disadvantage I find to simple syrups is that they do have a pretty short lifespan in the refrigerator. The high sugar content tends to grow mold if unused for too long.

But there are three easy solutions:

1. Only make the amount you will use within 2-3 weeks.
2. Freeze your simple syrup in ice cubes, to add a few to your summertime drinks before serving.
3. Water-bath can your simple syrups and enjoy them all year long.

Do you have to boil water for simple syrup?

Typically directions for making simple syrup will tell you to boil your water so that your sugar can dissolve well. 

And floral simple syrup recipes will tell you to steep your blooms in a pan of hot water on the stove, to extract the floral flavor into your water.

But if you choose to use maple syrup or honey instead of refined sugar you can add your sugar to cold water.

And if you steep your blooms in a jar of hot water until the water has totally cooled to room temperature you will have amazing floral water without any need to stand over a hot stove.

The easiest way to make simple syrup

No need to dissolve your sugar in boiling water or stand over the stove while you steep your blooms in a simmering pot. Instead, check out my new go-to plan for many future simple syrup creations.

This is simple syrup in 3 simple steps, that you can make with any floral edible flowers and all-natural sugar!

After removing your blooms from the plant or bush (leaving the green sepals and base of the flower behind), fill a mason jar with the fragrant blooms. The size of the jar is up to you (or dictated by your plethora of blooms). See below for inspiration about what blooms you could use for making simple syrup.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil on your stove. Or just dispense the hot water right into your jar, if you have an instant hot water heater. Bill got me mine about 7 years ago–he scored some mega brownie points that mother’s day–and it is still working beautifully every day since.

Then you want to let your floral blooms sit in the jar, covered with the hot water, until the water has cooled to room temperature. You’ll notice the water slowly and subtly taking on the color of the blooms. Below you can see the slightly purple tint to the lilac water and the yellow tint to the forsythia water.

After your water is cold to the touch (feel free to let it sit overnight if you’d like), strain out the flowers and toss them.

Now you’re ready to add honey or maple syrup to your pretty floral water.

You’ll want to add 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup for every 1 cup of water. And, of course, since it’s already a liquid sugar, it will mix in easily to your cold floral-infused water. No need to boil the floral water to dissolve it or to simmer your concoction for 10 minutes, which is the way I used to make a simple syrup

Well, before today that is.

You can store your syrup in the refrigerator for weeks, maybe months. If you’d like to can some to enjoy in the heart of winter, see this article for those directions.

What flowers can you use in this easy simple syrup recipe?

Feel free to experiment with any edible bloom (that hasn’t been sprayed with any chemical pesticide of course). Keep in mind that the more fragrant the flower the more you will taste its floral notes in your syrup.

My favorite is lilac.

Some other edible flowers you could try include:

• Lilac
• Lavender
• Rose
• Honeysuckle
• Forsythia
• Dandelion
• Orchid
• Pansy
• Carnation
• Hibiscus
• Chamomile
• Tulips

Does it matter what kind of honey I use?

I always use raw honey, because any other honey has been processed.

Of course, if you’re adding honey to a recipe that requires you to heat it, the heat will destroy the nutritional benefits of the raw honey, so you might as well save a little money and use a processed honey. On the other hand, one of the beauties to this simple syrup recipe is that the honey is added to cool water, so it’s perfect for raw honey. Score!

I also recommend you find local honey whenever possible, not only to support your local businesses but also to help with allergies. You see, your local, raw honey is filled with your local allergens that are native to your area.

Since we are beekeepers, our honey is as raw and as local as honey gets. Even so, there is a time and a place in my kitchen for this amazing Tupelo Honey.

When I first met my friends, Brad and Deanna, the owners of Bee Wild Raw Honey, I was immediately captivated by their family and their business. When I tasted their tupelo honey, I was a fan for life.

This honey is the best I’ve ever tasted. No joke. In fact, I never joke about all-natural sweetener. But y’all know that.

Not to mention that when I find a company I love that makes a product I can’t live without, well, I gotta share it with you all.

So if you’re in the market for the best honey I’ve ever tasted, look no further than this tupelo honey from a family-run business in Florida.

AND, for a limited time only, try this deliciousness at 15% off!! Use this link and coupon code MAPLE. (Offer excludes gallons.) 

How do I use simple syrup?

My favorite use is in my homemade kombucha. Lilac Blueberry Kombucha is my favorite flavor I make.

But it’s also wonderful in a cup of warm tea. This is a tea I love made with lilac honey, but you could make the same thing with lilac simple syrup.

And I love making ice tea or lemonade that is sweetened with a floral simple syrup. Lilac Limeade is my favorite. (And my father-in-laws.)

And for an extra special friend, a jar of simple syrup is a perfect gif. Find more ideas and gift cards for gifting simple syrup right here.

Easy Simple Syrup Recipe, in 3 steps

To make the easiest simple syrup you’ve ever made, follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Fill a jar full of blooms with hot water.* (This instant & portable hot water boiler has been a game changer in my kitchen.)
2. After completely cool (overnight is fine), strain out flowers.
3. Add 1/4 cup of tupelo honey for every 1 cup of water.

*NOTE: run your jar under very warm water for a minute before filling a glass jar with boiling water, to allow it to pre-heat and avoid any breakage.

That’s it. It couldn’t be much simpler, or taste more delicious.

More “sweet”ness you’ll love:

3 Ways to Make Forsythia Syrup

Gifting Floral Simple Syrup

My Favorite Way to Use Lilac Syrup

How to add elderberry syrup to kombucha (& why!)

 

---

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. Psalm 52:8

 

 

Pin this for later!

Click on the image below to pin this post.