Bottle up those strawberry picking Saturdays of yon days passed in a beautiful, ruby-coloured syrup. Capture big strawberry flavour with none of that artificial sweetness to use in a strawberry daiquiri or a vodka lemonade for a touch of rosy goodness.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pint fresh strawberries (or 1 lb)

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse strawberries and hull them out by cutting off the stems/leaves.
2. Cut strawberries into ¼ inch slices.
3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add water and strawberries.
4. Bring to a boil and once boiling, bring down to a simmer.
5. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
6. With a spoon, skim the foam off the liquid's surface while the strawberries cook.
7. After 20 minutes, the strawberries should have lost most of their colour and the water should be pink/red. After evaporation, you should have around 1 cup of liquid.
8. Remove from heat.
9. 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.
10. Put the saucepan of strawberry-infused water over medium-high heat and add sugar.
11. Skim any extra foam that forms during the second boil.
12. Stir until all the sugar is fully dissolved.
13. Remove from heat and let cool at room temperature.
14. Store in an airtight container (glass works best).
15. Refrigerate.