Mint Syrup

This is old-school syrup making, the kind where you steep a massive amount of fresh mint overnight to extract every bit of flavor before cooking it down into a thick, concentrated syrup.

Eight cups of chopped mint leaves get doused with boiling water and weighted down under a plate to stay submerged. That overnight soak pulls deep, herbal mint flavor into the water without any bitterness. The next day, you squeeze every last drop of juice from those leaves before discarding them.

The sugar syrup is heavy on purpose: 8 cups of sugar to 3 cups of water creates a concentrate thick enough to preserve well in the fridge. A few tablespoons of mint extract at the end reinforces the mint punch so it holds up when diluted with cold or sparkling water.

Chef Tips

• Weigh the mint down properly; leaves floating above the waterline won’t release their oils
• Squeeze the steeped leaves through cheesecloth to get every bit of green juice out
• Boil the sugar syrup a full 10-15 minutes so it thickens enough to coat a spoon
• Store in sterilized glass bottles; this keeps refrigerated for several weeks thanks to the high sugar concentration

Variations

• Skip the food coloring: The steeped mint juice gives a natural pale green on its own
• Mojito mixer: Use this syrup as the sweet component in mojitos instead of simple syrup and muddled mint
• Mint limeade: Dilute with sparkling water and fresh lime juice over ice