I went to a restaurant recently that served unsweet tea with a syrup pitcher of "liquid sugar" on the table so that each guest could sweeten to taste. I have heard that the best recipe is equal parts sugar to water for the syrup, but don't know about storage of the syrup or how long it can be kept. Any help?
I spoke to a commercial food chemist about this and he says that a sugar solution of at least 34% is completely sterile so all you have to do is put it in a sterile container and you should be all set,50/50 by volume should be fine
To make liquid sugar (or bar syrup as it is generally known), boil equal amounts of water and syrup together until all the sugar crystals have been absorbed. Let it cool and pour it into a clean glass bottle or jar. Cover tightly and you can keep it at room temperature for an unlimited time. If you notice crystalization, just re-boil it, adding more water and sugar as needed. I keep this on hand at all times because I love sweetened ice tea and plain sugar just sits at the bottom of the glass.
I have never made the sweetner for tea this way, but I have made a solution of sugar syrup for the hummingbirds. I use 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water for that, and whatever is left in the fall, I just leave in the back of my fridge and use in the spring and it has never spoiled. So I would think that you could store the tea sweetner for quite some time without a problem. Harlean from Arkansas
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