'canjam' entree for April - Lemon Verbena Syrup

This months entry is marked by what you can't see, but is still very much there...
Growing up, I didn't find tinned fruit cups in my lunchbox, which is perfectly fair when you consider that most of those individual sized items tasted more like the tin they came in than the fruit they were meant to be. In our house, summer fruits were preserved in quart sized mason jars in heavy syrup, the fruit tasted great - a peach like a peach - but the leftover syrup was the real prize. I can still hear my father's voice yelling, “Eh, don't throw that out!” We'd have that syrup on ice cream, or if I could get away with it, I'd drink it cold right out of the mason jar. One day last spring I thought to myself, “why not just make the syrup, and can that?” I quickly discovered, I was not the first to have this thought, nor the first to apply it to herbs. 

As it turns out, “Eh, don't throw that out,” has become a mantra of my life, and syrups ARE a great way to capture the essence of any herb. I've made: lavender, thyme, mint, lemon verbena, and even basil. This month, I remade the lemon verbena syrup because it is, hands down, my favorite, and therefore had been devoured. 

You'll need: 

1 bunch lemon verbena – rinsed and dried (or other herb of your choice)

10 cups sugar

10 cups water 

Note: this is a simple-syrup base, you can make any volume you like using a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water 

Technique: 

1. Bring sugar and water to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add herbs and cook for 5 minutes. 

2. Remove from heat cool and cover. Allow herbs to steep in the syrup over-night. (At least 12hrs) 

3. Prepare canning equipment, sterilize jars and lids. 

4. Strain syrup though two or three layers of cheesecloth to remove all herbs and any solids that may have accumulated. 

5. Return pot to the stove and bring to a boil. Cook for 5minutes, just long enough to sterilize the syrup. 

6. Ladle into hot jars leaving a 1/4inch head-space and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. 

The results: The lemon verbena syrup falls on the sweeter side of lemon flavor with no sourness at all, it has a strong hint of both floral and herbal flavors. It keeps for up to a year – possibly more – but once opened probably should be kept refrigerated, and should be consumed in two or three weeks. (this won't be an issue) 

Enjoy: 

Jazz up a simple vanilla cake by brushing with syrup before you cover with frosting. 

Drizzle over ice cream of sorbet. 

Make your own soft-drinks: 1 part syrup to 4 parts sparkling mineral water 

Make your own signature martinis: 1 part syrup to 2 parts vodka or gin 

Add a 1ounce shot to a glass of iced tea for something truly refreshing. 

 P.S. The martini in the picture was delicious.

Comments

[Catalina]

Looks great! When you say a bunch of herbs - how many cups is that?

[Charrington]

I used fresh herbs. The bunch was about ¾ – 1 inch across where it was bound with an elastic band, and the individual stems were about 12 inches tall. I'd guess if I chopped that up it would make about 2 cups of loosely chopped herbs. I just placed the herbs into the pot stem and all. If I were using dried herbs I might use between ¼ and ½ cup of dried herbs as they're very intense.

That help?

[Patty]

Ahhh. Your family sounds nice. We fought over the pickle juice!

The martini idea is fantastic!