Author Notes
When we were in Hawaii, our hotel had a large jug of water with pieces of fruit cut up in it in the lobby all day long--it was great for filling up our water bottles before going on a hike or a bike ride. I originally made the simple syrup to sweeten iced tea, and my husband said, wow, this would be great if you used seltzer instead of iced tea! (He was right.) At the same time, I was looking through my old recipe cards to find my mother's recipes, and I came upon a recipe my daughter wrote down when she was about 8 years old--she made a "special drink" and wrote down the recipe for me. So I included her recipe card as inspiration. You can use any fruit that you like, the juicier the better. - drbabs —drbabs
Test Kitchen Notes
Fizzy and fruity, just like the name says. The syrup is lightly citrusy, not cloying. It also could not be easier to make. The fruit macerates with the sugar and then the hot water naturally creates a simple syrup. I see myself making big batches of the syrup with all kinds of fresh fruit and berries during the summer to store in my fridge. - Emily —The Editors
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Ingredients
- Fruity simple syrup
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1
lemon, sliced
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1
orange, sliced
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4
strawberries, sliced
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3/4 cup
sugar
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1
sprig fresh mint
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1 cup
hot water
- To Make the Drink:
-
6 ounces
seltzer
-
1/3
lemon or lime (use a meyer lemon if you can get it)
-
2-4 ounces
fruity simple syrup, to taste
-
fruit or mint sprig for garnish
Directions
- Fruity simple syrup
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Place fruit, mint and sugar in large bowl or jug and macerate until the sugar begins to dissolve and a thick syrup starts to form.
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Pour hot water over fruit, mint and sugar and stir till the sugar is completely dissolved.
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Let fruit, mint and sugar steep together till solution has cooled.
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Strain into a pitcher, pressing into the fruit with the back of a spoon so that you get as much juice as possible into the pitcher. If pieces of fruit have fallen into the pitcher, strain it again so that you have a pure syrup. (Great for sweetening iced tea, by the way.)
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Refrigerate syrup.
- To Make the Drink:
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Pour sparkling water into large glass over crushed ice (if desired).
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Squeeze juice of lemon or lime into glass.
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Add 2-4 ounces of syrup--varying to taste for sweetness.
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Garnish with fruit or a sprig of mint.
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Ahhhhh......
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