There’s a kind of tradition of making homemade syrups in this part of the world. Most usual is sour-cherry syrup, but you can also find strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry and even elderberry-flower syrups on basement shelves in many homes in Serbia.
On the other hand, I’ve read a lot about mint syrup and how its used in some cocktails. But, there’s no commercially available one. So I thought – why not try and make it on my own?
Well, not exactly on my own :) I got a great help form my mother. Together, we came up with this excellent recipe, which is, by the way, 100% natural!
You’ll need about 22 sprigs of lemon balm and 12 sprigs of mint. We used sprigs that are about 20 centimeters long.
Pour 3-4 liters of water over those sprigs and let it “sleep over”, ie. let it soaked at least during the night. Then, the next day, strain it and add sugar, in 1:1 ratio (1 kilogram of sugar per 1 liter). All you have to do now is stir, stir, stir, until all sugar is dissolved. And there you go!
Note that this syrup is 100% natural, without any chemicals added, so you should drink it quickly, and its prefered that you keep it in fridge. You may add some chemicals in order to obtain conservation and gain some shelf-life, but do that at your own will, I can’t recommend anything.
Serve it diluted with water in about 1:7 ratio (1 syrup, 7 water), but do not take this strictly – follow your own taste ;)
What I like most – this syrup is clear, with some traces of pale green colour… When diluted, it’s almost colorless. Many will get fooled when you serve it to them for the first time – they’ll think it’s water!
And, that’s exactly why this post lacks images! I saw no point in taking pictures of something so neutral as this syrup…
Dejan Pejčić - The main guy behing Lounge Area :) 