Remember those strawberry picking days with the family when you were younger? We decided to take those memories and bottle them up into a delicious syrup. Its beautiful dark pink colour beckons to be used in a cool, refreshing cocktail recipe. Use this syrup to create your own fun cocktails such as a strawberry daiquiri, margarita, or simply splash some in a vodka lemonade for a touch of rosy strawberry goodness. Simple, elegant, delicious flavours.  

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Cup Sugar
• Pint of Strawberries (or 1 lbs)

DIRECTIONS

• Rinse strawberries and hull them out by cutting the stems/leaves.
• Slice strawberries about ¼ inch each.
• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the strawberries and the water.
• Bring to a boil and once boiling, bring down to a simmer. 
• Cook the strawberries in water for about 20 minutes.
• With a spoon, skim the foam that floats while the strawberries cook.
• After 20 minutes, the strawberries should have lost most of their colour and the water should be a pink/red colour. After evaporation, you should have around 1 cup of liquid.
• Remove from heat. 
• Using a strainer, strain the strawberries and collect the liquid in a saucepan.

 Note: Avoid pressing down on the strawberries as you strain as this will create a cloudy syrup. 

• Put the saucepan of strawberry infused water over medium-high heat and add the sugar. 
• Skim any extra foam that forms during the second boil. 
• Stir until sugar is fully dissolved. 
• Remove from heat and let cool. 
• Store in a glass container and refrigerate.
• Keeps about 1 week.