Forget Plain Sugar, Sweeten with Simple Syrup

You have a $20 bag of coffee and your new French press. Now, it's time to put away your granulated sugar and elevate your coffee with simple syrup. Simple syrup is easy to make and has multiple uses in the kitchen.

Coffee is not the only application for this multi-faceted tool. Add simple syrup to sweeten cocktails, iced tea or homemade lemonade. Simple syrup will ensure that all you taste is your beverage, and not the grittiness that comes with undissolved sugar.

Like I said, this is going to be really easy and even easier if you have an electric tea kettle.

Simple Syrup

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Boiling water

Method 1 (Quickest)

1.  Using your electric tea kettle, boil at least a cup of water.
2. In the meantime, get a glass bowl and put the sugar in the bowl.
3. When the water is boiling, pour the water into the bowl.
4. Lightly stir until completely dissolved.
5. Cool and refrigerate.

Method 2

1. In a small saucepan, pour water and sugar in the pot.
2. Heat over low-medium.
3. Stir the sugar occasionally until it is completely dissolved.
4. Cool and refrigerate.

Now this is just a basic formula. There is plenty of wiggle room here if you wanted to add a vanilla bean or two to the pot or bowl. Steeping is a great way to infuse flavors into liquid items. If vanilla isn't your thing, you can add cinnamon sticks along with some nutmeg to make a great holiday drink. My colleague Ida has lots of great ideas for infusing different flavors into simple syrup in this post.

Two simple ingredients can make something versatile and extremely useful. Also, if you feel like you need a thicker syrup, you can use two cups of sugar to one cup of water. This is more effectively done in method 2.

To learn about making simple syrups and general mixology, check out The Chopping Block's upcoming Mixology 101 class, where you'll learn not only how make syrups, but also how to craft the perfect drink for your next cocktail party.