I’d never thought very much about Mint syrup until I saw a picture of a Menthe a l’Eau on Facebook recently (Thanks Ash!). Apparently it’s popular in Europe, and very refreshing in warm weather.. It looked amazing – all green and icy – and I wanted one..
By coincidence, there happened to be a large bunch of Mint sitting in a jug on my kitchen window sill. It was looking a bit sad now, to be honest, so what better plan than to have a go at Mint syrup? It was certainly better than doing the ironing, which was my alternative that evening..
Menthe a l’Eau – sounds so much more exotic than ‘Mint in Water’, n’est pas?
Here’s this easy recipe – there’s no preservative in it, so unless you’re going to freeze it, don’t make too much..However it freezes really well, so if you have a flowerbed full of Mint – get to it!
EQUIPMENT:
- A fairly large saucepan
- weighing scales
- A pestle, or wooden spoon
- A measuring jug
- a muslin cloth, or old clean cotton tea towel
- A funnel, if you have one
- a sterilised bottle – to hold about 400mls
INGREDIENTS: This is what I used, as it depended on the weight of my mint leaves..
- 25g bright green Mint leaves – stripped from the stems – discard any damaged or brown ones.
- 80g Sugar – I used white granulated
- 400ml Boiling water
METHOD:
- Sterilise your bottle.
- Place the mint leaves into the saucepan with the sugar and crush the leaves, to release as much flavour as possible.
- Add the boiling water, cover and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally
- Once the sugar has dissolved, replace the cover, and boil hard for about 5 minutes
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool completely.
- Strain several times through a few pieces of kitchen paper in a sieve, and then through Muslin.
- Pour into the bottle and refrigerate.
- Use within a couple of weeks, or freeze it in small quantities.
NOTES:
- Sadly, you’re not going to get that fabulous green colour that you’re expecting – but if you feel strongly about it, add a drop or two of food colouring.
- This is a perfect syrup for making our favourite Summer drink – well one of them anyway – The Hugo. https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/cocktail-hugo/
- We usually use Elderflower Cordial https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/homemade-elderflower-cordial/, and put crushed mint into the glass. I’d be inclined to add half-and-half Elderflower and Mint – should be amazing!
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx