Strawberry Syrup and Marmalade

Summer means refreshing drinks and today, we’re teaching you how to make your own strawberry syrup to concoct these fruity mocktails or cocktails.

We used our homemade syrup to make a summer cocktail, using the South African Musgrave Pink Gin which we received previously from our friends Musgrave Gin and HVC.

And since we’re making syrup, we kept the berries aside (we don’t waste anything) to make a tasty strawberry marmalade which we enjoyed for a few weeks!

Ingredients for the syrup

• 1 cup strawberries
• 1 and 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar

Preparation of the syrup

1. Wash and cut your strawberries into slices.
2. place your berries in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Bring it to a boil, stirring every now and then, until your berries become soft. Do not mash the berries as this may give your syrup a sour taste. This should take around 15 to 20 minutes and the water will turn into a pretty shade of red.
3. Strain the water into a bowl and keep the berries aside for later.
4. Next, pour the water back in the saucepan and add the sugar according to your taste. Bring the liquid to a boil and stir continuously until the sugar dissolves. let it simmer for some 5 minutes.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool completely. Pour into a glass container. You can store your homemade syrup in the fridge for several weeks!

Ingredients for the Marmalade

• the leftover berries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Preparation for the Marmalade

1. In your saucepan, mash your berries. Next, add your sugar and water and stir.
2. Next, turn on the heat to a medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, continuously stirring as the mixture thickens. Once it reaches a sticky and thick consistency, turn off the heat.
3. Leave it to cool and transfer to an airtight container which you can store in the fridge for several weeks. You can use the jam in cakes, on toasts, waffles or pancakes.

Red Fruit Gin Cocktail

You can use the syrup to make a quick refreshing summer cocktail and we’re using the Musgrave Pink Gin for ours. It looks so pretty that you’re bound to impress your guests.

Ingredients for the Gin

• Tonic water
• Ice cubes
• A bunch of Rosemary
• Some berries (I got some frozen berries mix from the supermarket)
• Strawberry Syrup

Preparation:

1. Fill your shaker up to around 3/4 with tonic water (chilled is better). Add around 2 tablespoons of syrup. A little bit of rosemary leaves which you crushed a little to release the flavor and some ice cubes and pour the gin according to your reference. The Musgrave Gin is quite strong so be careful!
2. Give it a good shake and pour into your glass, running it through a strainer in case your shaker does not come with one.
3. Next, toss in a few berries (3 or 4 are fine) and garnish with a bunch of Rosemary and serve.