ISO: Home made fruit syrup recipes

[OnceUponABite]

I want to make fruit syrups as xmas give aways. Now the summer fruits are in season, it seems like a good time to start?

Are there any recipes that's good to start now?

Or is it too soon and it won't keep that long?

Last year I made cranberry infused vodka, but I don't think it went over well...maybe because my friends are big drinkers.

I thought of fruit infused vinegars, but that's hard to utilized for non-cooks.

I have some bottles I need to use up.

So hit me with your best fruit syrup/sauce.

[MikeG]

PS: Unless you can or freeze it, neither syrups nor jams, etc. will hold up very well for 5 months, but then, in most parts of the country, you're not going to find great fruit in November, either.

[MikeG]

You can make syrup from any fruit you can turn into jelly (pretty much everything, one way or another.) Just proceed as if making jelly, but don't use pectin and don't cook it down far enough to jell. If you want to make low-sugar syrup, you would need pectin but I have no experience with that.

In terms of making presents, keep in mind that it's an expensive process unless you have access to cheap fruit. It's a slight overgeneralization, but it takes about 2 lb of fruit to produce a cup of juice. With larger fruit (peaches, nectarines, etc.) it's not exhorbitant, but small fruits and berries can add up fast. To mitigate the cost, you can use the leftover pulp to make a quick & dirty jam for everyday use, but still. If that's a problem, you might consider jam or preserves - they're also a lot less painstaking and time consuming to make.

Personally I like syrups unadorned with flavorings, etc., so I don't have recipes, it's more a process (and too long to type.) If you do a Google search you'll come up with more extension office jellymaking pages than you know what to do with, or you could pick up a copy of the Ball canning guide - detailed instructions, photos, etc.