Strawberry Syrup

Here's what you can do with strawberry syrup: everything!

We had it on French Toast, and Abby claimed that it was the best French Toast she'd ever laid lips on.  I added it to some softened butter to make strawberry butter...and had to restrain myself from making fresh biscuits just for the hell of it, because I wanted something light and flaky to melt my strawberry butter on.  You can add it to ice cream and milk in a blender to make strawberry shakes, you can pour it over fruit (think peaches, pears and blueberries) or add it to your coffee - and if you drink iced coffee in the summer like I do, I am telling you now, your day will start off on exactly the right foot!  I have visions of it drizzled over oatmeal in the morning (real oatmeal, not the instant kind) and also over some vanilla pudding.  And I am going to add it to some balsamic vinegar and a little bit of olive oil and then drizzle it over a grilled chicken salad with lettuce and some fresh mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and some toasted pecans this week.

Whatever you can imagine, I'm sure strawberry syrup would make it better!

•  1 pound (about 1-3/4 to 2 cups) strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• pinch of salt

Bring all of the above to a boil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Boil uncovered for 10  minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat to prevent the mixture from boiling over.  Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.  Strain the mixture with cheesecloth and a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the solids to get out all of the syrup - but be careful because the strawberry mixture is hot.  Cover and chill.

A couple of my own notes:

1. I measured out about 2 cups of strawberries un-cut, then added a couple more.
2. You want to be careful not to get any of the strawberry pieces into your syrup, which is where the cheesecloth comes in handy - it helps to hold everything together, but if you don't have cheesecloth, a really fine mesh strainer will do just fine and will keep most of the strawberry pieces out of your syrup.
3. You can get cheese cloth at a fabric store for pretty cheap and it will last you a long time.
4. This makes a thinner syrup (don't think you're going to have the consistency of Mrs. Butterfield's Maple Syrup).

This recipe was taken from Bon Appetit, June 2007; it keeps for up to a week in the refrigerator.