Simple syrup or superfine sugar?

Is there much difference? Which do you prefer, and why? I tend to use superfine sugar, even if the recipe calls for simple syrup. But I never know how much to use, so I just add to taste. For example, when the recipe calls for 1/2 ounce syrup, how much sugar is the equivalent?

I prefer simple syrup, but only if it's homemade from cane sugar. If you use a retail syrup, chances are it is HFCS and chemicals, and that just sucks.

I know superfine dissolves quickly, but I prefer syrup to avoid the issue altogether. With the 2 sugar to 1 water ratio, it adds very little water to a drink.

On 2006-01-23 13:22, martiki wrote:
If you use a retail syrup, chances are it is HFCS and chemicals, and that just sucks.

Would that include Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup?

For me it's not an issue of whether the liitle amount of water in syrup affects the drink. I agree it would not make a difference. But I'm just lazy and would rather not make the syrup when I can just throw in a teaspoon or 2 of sugar.

I've never thought of using superfine sugar, but it would be one less thing to pour out and measure.
I'm all over speeding up my mixing without affecting the outcome of a well made drink.

How about Sblenda?

On 2006-01-23 14:18, thejab wrote:

On 2006-01-23 13:22, martiki wrote:
If you use a retail syrup, chances are it is HFCS and chemicals, and that just sucks.

Would that include Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup?

Yes. Yes, it would. And now I am free to say that it sucks. One thing abnout the Vic's syrup, however is that it has a touch of vanilla (well, fake vanilla) in it. I've seen some upscale syrups and some recipes call for this. Some think of it as a secret weapon, I'm on the fence on this issue.

adding 1 inch of a Tahitian vanilla bean to your bag/container of superfine sugar will help it taste similar to commercial syrup, and will improve any drink in a very subtle way. Tahitian vanilla can be found in most stores in a small jars for a high price. Large beans can be bought by weight from a vender on Ebay for a much cheaper price.

Using any size granule of sugar can result in clumping (especially fine or powder) or a super sweet draw at the bottom of a cocktail. If you prefer to use a granule over making your own syrup or a commercialy available one, try this: As a first step to preparing your cocktail, take your measurement of granule and drop in a shotglass with a little of one of the juice components or liqueur that is room temp, stir well(little battery cocktail stirer is tops). Let sit while weighing out and mixing the rest of the cocktail. stir again, then add to the rest of the mix. Granule will mix better because it has soaked in a room temp liquid, as opposed to adding directly to a ice cold shaker. This is a luxury you have when bartending at home:time.
When it comes down to it the average drinker can not distinguish a 2/3 of a 1/2 oz. addition or subtraction of water, this is more about pleasing yourself as a mixologist. More likely to be noticeable is unmixed granule at the bottom of the glass or mug that is sucked up hard as the last marked taste of the cocktail, only to be a liquid shot of pixie stick.
just my experience snortin sugar
TT
(ahh hell, just drink Mickeys!?!)
p.s. Aikmann, i have used splenda for a weight conscience drink in replacement of syrup for a traditional recipe. worked for them, did taste a bit different, the amount takes a couple of tries. mixes well enough, and the foaming dissapates when shoooken.

Aloha kaua

[ Edited by: tikitanked 2006-01-23 18:31 ]

Is simple syrup the same as Gomme syrup?

Yep.

Is there a recipe for simple syrup somewhere on this site? How do you make this stuff?

T.I.A.

TikiGap

I'm not sure if there's a recipe 'round here but it's pretty much 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. If you just use cups, it'll make more than you'll use in a night. Easy as pie. You boil the snot of it, or at least until all the sugar is dissolved, and you pour it into something (I use mason jars). The fun part of it is that I've had mine sitting in the fridge and some of the sugar has started to form odd crystal-type rock formations. Super fun!

It's that simple huh? Thanks! I'll make some...!

I just take a small jam jar, fill it half way with sugar, then fill the rest with boiling water almost to the top. Put the lid on and shake.
Once the sugar has dissolved leave to cool and use.

Superfine sugar is VERY easy to make into simple syrup! It doesn't need to be heated and dissolves rather easily in water. Just place it in a jar with water and shake. Then shake again. And then one more time.
Just be sure it’s NOT powered confectioner’s sugar as this has corn starch in it and will cause clumping. Superfine sugar can be hard to find in your average supermarket so be sure to not get the two of them confused. If you can’t find superfine then go with the regular table sugar, but you will need to use heat.

I've seen 1 part sugar to 1 part water, 2:1 and 1:2 ratios. I’d start a small batch with a 1:1. You can always increase or decrease the next batch.
Since I use Splenda, as many are very concerned about weight gain at this time of year, I use a 1 part sugar to 2 part water ratio. Splenda seems very sweet to me and the taste can overwhelm. But it also does not need to be heated and dissolves very easily in water with just a little shaking.

Edit: I add a vodka if the batch is large. I have had mold form in my simple syrup.

"The only time I ever said no to a drink was when I misunderstood the question."

Will Sinclair

[ Edited by: JerseyRED 2006-01-26 05:21 ]

On 2006-01-26 05:18, JerseyRED wrote:
Superfine sugar can be hard to find in your average supermarket....

As Alton Brown stated in the most recent episode of Good Eats, never BUY superfine sugar. Just throw regular sugar in the blender and whiz it up for a few seconds.

Technically, gomme syrup is simple syrup with gum arabic and/or glycerin added to give a more viscous mouth feel. Most people would use simple syrup as a substitute.

I'd use what the recipe calls for. I've seen some call for regular and powdered sugar but most "tiki" drinks call for simple syrup. So easy to make and keeps for such a long time that there is no reason not to have some in your fridge right now. I use natural (Florida Crystals) sugar and use 1 part sugar to 1 part water. Heat and stir until boiling and dissolved then take it off the heat. If you boil it too long it will crystallize on you like rock candy. Then I add a drop or two of pure vanilla extract. Just a drop or two though, you only want a "hint" of vanilla. When it is cool enough I pour it off into a clean empty rum bottle. Better than a mason jar because it is easy to pour from. That's it.

Thanks for all the input. So far, from what I've heard, it seems the recipe for simple syrup varies a lot: 2 parts sugar and 1 part water, or 1 part syrup to 1 part water, and some use vanilla, some don't. And the stuff you can buy probably tastes different from homemade syrup.

It seems to me that this variation would change the flavor (sweetness) of a drink quite a bit.

On the other hand, superfine sugar is superfine sugar. If the exact amount is used that is called for, and the other ingredients (especially lime and lemon juices) are measured accurately, then the drink will always come out the same every time you make it. Furthermore, many old cocktail books specify granulated (superfine or bar) sugar in the recipes.

I still have 2 questions that haven't been answered:

1. Is there any good reason not to use superfine sugar? So far the only reason I can see is that it's more expensive than regular sugar. Alton Brown's advice seems to solve that problem, but it involves some more effort and cleanup, which is one reason why I use superfine sugar in the first place (less work than making syrup - yes, I'm that lazy).

2. Is there any standard measuring ratio that can be applied when using superfine sugar in a drink that calls for syrup? For example, if the Grog Log calls for a teaspoon of simple syrup, how much superfine sugar would be used? My guess is that if the standard syrup recipe is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, than a tablespoon of syrup is 2 teaspoons of sugar plus one teaspoon of water, so the equivalent of superfine sugar is 2/3 of the amount the recipe calls for. That makes it fairly hard to substitute, but using a smidgeon less may be good enough. The Esquire Drinks book says to use 2 parts simple syrup when substituting for sugar, so it seems somwhere between 1/2 and 2/3 is a good rule of thumb.

I've never had a problem getting superfine sugar to dissolve, but just in case I often put the lime or lemon juice in the shaker first, followed by the sugar so a few stirs dissolves the sugar, then the rest of the ingredients, with the liquor in last (so if you screw up measuring the other ingredents you won't have to dump out good expensive booze). Finally, I add the ice after all the ingredients are in the shaker.

You're on a road that I have never traveled so lead on. Sure I've used brown sugar dissolved in lemon or lime juice that some recipes call for, but I've never ventured further. So go forth in this undiscovered country in which no one has returned… but please do return and tell us what you find. Sounds like you’re on the right track with the “dissolve in juice first” technique since this works fine with something as coarse as brown sugar. As far as making up for the lost water? I’d try a side by side, maybe you don’t need it. Either way, drink recipe experiments are always fun… wish I could be on your panel of judges.

From what I understand, simple syrup is 1 part sugar to 1 part water and rock candy syrup is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. I also under stand rock candy is an exact substitute for granulated sugar. add one tablespoon sugar, or you can add one tablespoon of rock candy syrup and add the same sweetness but it dissolves faster.

[ Edited by: captnkirk 2006-01-29 13:36 ]

Ah... I love threads like these, and I just have to weigh in (pun intended).

Jab, it seems to me that the simple/gomme/rock candy syrup recipe varies all over the place, which makes it difficult at best to find your equivalency.

Personally, I have always followed a weight measured vs. cups recipe. In other words, 2 lbs of sugar to one cup of water. This is the only recipe I know of for simple syrup, and it is the one I have always followed. It also works flawlessly every time. It is standard in many of my old bartending books.

Now in that case, we can get a ratio based on the weight if we measure the liquid the recipe creates. I have yet to measure it though, but you could make a batch and see. You know you have 2 lbs of sugar in the solution, so all you'd need to do is find out how many ounces of liquid the recipe makes. This would give you a "sugar by weight per ounce of liquid" measurement to use for making drinks with super fine sugar.

Just be sure to measure your superfine by weight as well before you make the conversion to liquid measure like tablespoons or whatever. The reason being that superfine will compact due to it's smaller particle size, and one Tbs of superfine would contain more sugar by weight than granulated sugar would.

Dig?

Ahu

But does anybody substitute Sblenda for sugar for making simple syrup?

They advertise it measures like sugar, (use a cup of Splenda instead of a cup of sugar). If it dissolves in boiling water and stays dissolved when cool I can't see why not use Splenda syrup in drinks.

That said, I can't see the point in trying to save a few sugar calories, considering the booze you add has over 100 calories a shot. It's like ordering a triple fudge sunday with a diet soda for desert.

Ah... I also just wanted to add:

There is nothing wrong with water in a drink. In fact it is absolutely essential in many cocktails. The assumption that adding water is bad is... wrong.

So uh... yeah.

Ahu

On 2006-01-30 17:22, captnkirk wrote:

That said, I can't see the point in trying to save a few sugar calories, considering the booze you add has over 100 calories a shot. It's like ordering a triple fudge sunday with a diet soda for desert.

Unless your patron is diabetic. In which case saving sugar calories could mean the difference between them enjoying one cocktail with the group, or sipping club soda.

I've never used Splenda, but a mojito made with it for instance would be very low in sugar.

Ahu