Homemade Golden Syrup

Photo: tastessence

Every year my blogging friend, Patricia of The Red Cardinal makes Anzac biscuits to remember all the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who served and died in wars and service for their country. Anzac Day is observed on April 25th. Originally the cookie was created by the Army Corp wives of the soldiers serving in World War I. The spouses came up with a crunchy cookie that could survive its mailing and reach the soldiers still delicious to eat.

Every April I want a bite of Trish's golden oatmeal cookies, but can't get Golden Syrup, a key ingredient to make them, here in the USA. Well, this year will be different. I have a recipe to make Golden Syrup at home. 

I compared many recipes, noticing they were all alike in their ingredients, but I came up with a sure-fire, no-fail technique, namely, adding lemon in step 1 (not step 2 like others) plus a lid to cover the pot while it simmers. I'll share my cooking times, but yours may be shorter, which is fine. A stainless steel pan is needed to do the task. Using a non-stick pot was a complete failure as the water dried out before the sugar caramelized in step one. Carmelized sugar gives the syrup its taste and golden color:

Homemade Golden Syrup

Ingredients:

Photo: indiamart

For step one:
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of boiling water
 slice of lemon (or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice)

For step two:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Extra tip: When simmering cover the pot with a lip to stop water from evaporating too quickly and the sugar from crystalizing. 

Directions:

1) On a stovetop, pour 1/4 cup of boiling water into a saucepan, followed by 1/2 cup of sugar. Swirl the pot around to dissolve the sugar.

2) Add the lemon and turn on the heat until it simmers. Cover the pan with a lid. The lemon and lid keep the mixture from forming crystals while cooking.

3) Leave the heat on a medium-low setting simmering until the mixture turns into a golden amber color. It may take 15 minutes, but be patient. A medium-low boil carmelizes the sugar. Watch and swirl the pan around periodically, but resist stirring with a spoon.

Photo: Todd on YouTube

4) Next add the rest of the sugar and boiling water to the caramelized mixture. Put the lip back on the pot to let the mixture simmer for another 20-30 minutes. You can swirl the mixture as needed.

5) Look for an amber color and a slight thickening.

6) Remove from the heat. As the mixture cools, it thickens even more turning into syrup. 

7) While still warm pour into a jar with a tight lid to seal. Golden syrup keeps well in a cupboard.

When the day rolls around, I'm ready to make Anzac cookies along with you, Trish!


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