What would you make with canned fruit syrups?

[applgrl]

I can my own peaches and pears and I hate to see all that lovely, fruity flavoured sugar syrup go down the drain. Aside from drinking it, which my best friend's dad used to do, I'm stumped.

The peaches are in medium syrup (5 cups water to 3 cups sugar) the pears in light (5:1). Each quart jar yields about a cup of syrup at the end.

Thoughts?

[Sarah Feldt]

I just made sorbet.
4C light syrup from several cans apricots
1 peach blended in blender

Place ingredients in cuisinart ice cream maker. The kind where you keep the bowl in the freezer. Mix for 30 minutes. Voila, sorbet. The sorbets in the recipes that came with the ice cream maker were fruit puree, juice, sugar and water. That's essentially what the syrup from the can is minus the puree. I guess you could make it without the puree.

[pine time]

Don't know if you make rasgullas much (they're a regular at my house), but I've used this very idea in lieu of the plain simple syrup for the 1st boil (actually, I usually don't both with the 2nd boil in a heavier syrup). Adds lovely fruit flavor to the rasgullas, especially with a few drops of rose water at the end.

[applgrl]

My neighbour cooks traditional Punjabi vegetarian---maybe she would teach me. If my own peach crop is light I also "borrow" some of her peaches. Thinking I'll have to trade canned goods for lessons! Great suggestion.

[4Snisl]

When I make bread pudding, I use it as part of the custard base. I never really follow a recipe for bread pudding, but it adds lovely sweetness, moisture and flavor while getting to cut back a little on the dairy, eggs and other sugar sources.

Approximating the last recipe, I probably had:
1 cup of heavy syrup from apricots
1/2 cup sugar
10 canned apricots, mushed up.
2 cups heavy cream (I think something lighter would work fine, but I had to use it up)
2 cups of water
3 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon rum extract
1 cup golden raisins

Mixed this together, then poured over about 8 cups of EXTREMELY dry French bread cubes. Let everything soak together happily for at least an hour, divided evenly between 2 loaf pans, then baked at 350' F in water baths until just set (about 45 minutes-1 hour)

Cooled, cut into moist slices, and served with whipped, sweetened Greek yogurt and macerated berries....it was very well received!

[applgrl]

...now if I can only get my family to help me eat the bread pudding....or rice pudding....or custard.....

I'll try this next winter. My last bread pudding was with leftover brioche from a party and it was so good that I now buy it fresh and let it harden. And they still barely eat it---ingrates!

[jeanat1]

How about adding them to jellies to make them super flavoured.

[eclecticsynergy]

One other suggestion- you can use it to sweeten iced tea.

[applgrl]

Whoa---this is really good. Last year I made sour cherry pie filling, but I left it too long in the canner and the thickener boiled out. The juice cubes are great in iced tea---there's lemon juice in the original recipe as well. Snapple beware!

[applgrl]

All tremendous, worthy ideas!! My liquor budget might go up a little---yikes! Won't be pouring any down the drain from now on!

[Emme]

i'd use it to make a custard, with or without some seriously reduced white balsamic vinegar. to fill a pie shell or mini cups; or just to eat on its own.

or a "tres frutas cake" -- sub the syrup for the soaking milk; incorporate some into a whipped cream frosting, and put fruit on top?

[geminigirl]

Lately I've been mixing in dry oatmeal and having it for breakfast. I also like drinking it or freeze for summertime cocktails/ blender drinks.

[applgrl]

....that will be much, much better than the flavour of instant oatmeal packets! Did you know the "peach" oatmeal has peach flavoured apple chunks masquerading as real peaches!!! I make real oats occasionally for the kids with water, milk, and honey as the base but I think the fruit syrups will be better!

[weem]

It's my stepfather's favorite pancake topping.

[greygarious]

Add an envelope of plain gelatin per 2 cups of syrup for your own homemade jello, with or without including actual pieces of fruit. For peach, I'd sub a half cup of cream for part of the syrup and use that for the cold part of the liquid. For pear, add a bit of almond extract, or amaretto, for a frangipane jello.

[jmcarthur8]

Oh, my, greygarious, that pear/almond one sounds delicious. Especially with cream!

I just happen to have some of my home canned pears (with almond, as a matter of fact!), and this is just what I am going to do with a jar of them!

[applgrl]

fruit aspic! I think I'll try it on top of plain custard after it sets.......should be amazing.

[srsone]

i'm with your best friends dad... i usually drink it

and pickle juice as well...

[weezieduzzit]

I would flavor water kefir with it for a second ferment, add it to fizzy water on hot days, over fresh fruit for desserts, all sorts of cocktails, over baked goods if you eat them, etc. I might even use the peach syrup as the sugar component of mango chutney.

[jmcarthur8]

I agree with Miri1, mix with seltzer on ice.
You can make a gelatin salad with it, and add your canned fruits.
Mix with any fruit juice. It would be great with unsweetened pure cranberry juice.

My favorite, drink it cold, straight out of the jar!

[ericsaul]

On Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way - he turned the canned peach syrup into a caramel by heating in a skillet. Added heavy cream and canned peaches into skillet. Then popped thing into fridge to cool. Remember thinking how amazing it was to make something great with the not-so-great canned fruit my parents used to feed us. Found link to recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/din...

[applgrl]

I've printed this one and put it in the camper! I'm a shameless show-off at the camp stove: won't it be fun to create this nonchalantly out of only two ingredients....;-)))

[dave_c]

Sangria?

From a scene in a movie (Lola Versus) where an elderly couple ordered Sangria in an Italian restaurant... The elderly gentleman suggested dumping a can of fruit cocktail into a pitcher of wine. :-)

On a more serious note, you essentially have a simple syrup. Cocktails come to mind. I'd look for recipes that call for "simple syrups". Icing for bundt cake... etc.

[njmarshall55]

Add some herbs and make a glaze for a ham.

[Miri1]

I'd mix them with seltzer and serve over ice.
Freeze in ice trays and use in punch or puree and eat as sorbet.
Maybe sub the syrup for liquids in cake batters. Just use less sugar in the recipe.

[applgrl]

mmmm.....I make a wicked fruit punch when there's a group of kids....ice cubes would be perfect, just the right amount. TX!