cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a thick,

viscous Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for example, syrup h ...

, liquid condiment consisting primarily of a

solution Solution may refer to: * Solution (chemistry), a mixture where one substance is dissolved in another * Solution (equation), in mathematics ** Numerical solution, in numerical analysis, approximate solutions within specified error bounds * Solu ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

in water. It typically contains a large amount of dissolved sugars but shows little tendency to deposit

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s. In its concentrated form, its consistency is similar to that of

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

. The viscosity arises from the multiple

hydrogen bond In chemistry, a hydrogen bond (H-bond) is a specific type of molecular interaction that exhibits partial covalent character and cannot be described as a purely electrostatic force. It occurs when a hydrogen (H) atom, Covalent bond, covalently b ...

s between the dissolved sugar, which has many

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

(OH) groups.

Types

There are a range of syrups used in food production, including: *

Agave syrup Agave syrup, also known as maguey syrup or agave nectar, is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of agave, including ''Agave tequilana'' (blue agave) and '' Agave salmiana''. Blue-agave syrup contains 56% fructose as a sugar prov ...

, made from

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

stem *

Cane syrup Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in su ...

, made from sugar canes *

Chocolate syrup Chocolate syrup, sometimes called chocolate sauce, is a sweet, chocolate-flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping or dessert sauce for various desserts, such as ice cream, or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk or blended with mil ...

Corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup that is made from the starch of corn/maize and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften Mouthfeel, texture, add vol ...

Glucose syrup Glucose syrup, also known as confectioner's glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Maize (corn) is commonly used as the source of the starch in the US, in which case the syrup is called "corn syrup", but gluco ...

Golden syrup Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and co ...

, a by-product of refining crystallized

High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose, and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

, widely used in the US *

Maple syrup Maple syrup is a sweet syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Ma ...

Table syrup Table syrup, also known as pancake syrup and waffle syrup, is a syrup used as a topping on pancakes, waffles, and french toast, often as an alternative to maple syrup, although more viscous typically. It is typically made by combining corn syru ...

Uses

For beverages

A variety of beverages call for sweetening to offset the tartness of some juices used in the drink recipes. Granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold drinks or ethyl alcohol. Since syrups are liquids, they are easily mixed with other liquids in

mixed drink A mixed drink is a Drink, beverage in which two or more ingredients are Drink mixer, mixed. Types * List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks—A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail-sty ...

s, making them superior alternatives to granulated sugar.

Simple sugar syrups

=Simple syrup

= Simple syrup (also known as sugar syrup, or bar syrup) is a basic sugar-and-water syrup. It is used by bartenders as a sweetener to make cocktails, and as a yeast feeding agent in

ethanol fermentation Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because yeasts perform this ...

. The ratio of sugar to water is 1:1 by volume for normal simple syrup, but can get up to 2:1 for rich simple syrup. For pure sucrose the saturation limit is about 5:1 ( sucrose to water).

=Demerara syrup

= Combining

demerara sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

, a type of natural brown sugar, with water in this process produces demerara syrup. Sugar substitutes such as

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

agave nectar Agave syrup, also known as maguey syrup or agave nectar, is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of agave, including ''Agave tequilana'' (blue agave) and '' Agave salmiana''. Blue-agave syrup contains 56% fructose as a sugar prov ...

can also be used to make syrups.

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s can be added to the ingredients during the process, resulting in a spiced simple syrup.

=Gomme syrup

= ''Gomme syrup'' (or ''gum syrup''; is French for "gum") is a boiled mixture of sugar and water, made with the highest ratio of sugar to water possible. In old recipes,

gum arabic Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...

is added, in the belief that it prevents the sugar from crystallizing and adds a smooth texture. Some recipes omit the gum arabic, thus are just simple syrup, considering the gum undesired, or to reduce cost. ''Gomme syrup'' is an ingredient commonly used in

mixed drinks A mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed. Types * List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks—A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail-style beverage made w ...

. In Japan, liquid sweeteners for

iced coffee Iced coffee is a coffee beverage served cold. It may be prepared either by brewing coffee normally (i.e. carafe, French press, etc.) and then serving it over ice or in cold milk or by cold brew coffee, brewing the coffee cold. In hot brewing, sw ...

are called ''gum syrup'', although they are actually simple syrup which contains no gum arabic. Ingredients vary by brand; some are

glucose–fructose syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose, and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzym ...

, some are sugar, or blends of both.

Flavored syrup

Flavored syrups are made by infusing simple syrups with flavoring agents during the cooking process. A wide variety of flavoring agents can be used, often in combination with each other, such as herbs, spices, or aromatics. For instance, ''syrups' aromatics'' is prepared by adding certain quantities of orange flavorings and

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

water to simple syrup. This type of syrup is commonly used at

coffee bar A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...

s, especially in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, to make flavored drinks. Infused simple syrups can be used to create desserts, or add sweetness and depth of flavor to cocktails.

Feedstock for fermentation

s rating over 90 DE (

dextrose equivalent Dextrose equivalent (DE) is a measure of the amount of reducing sugars present in a sugar product, expressed as a percentage on a dry basis relative to dextrose. The dextrose equivalent gives an indication of the average degree of polymerisation ...

) are used in

industrial fermentation Industrial fermentation is the intentional use of fermentation in manufacturing processes. In addition to the mass production of fermented foods and drinks, industrial fermentation has widespread applications in chemical industry. Commodity ch ...

Production

Syrups can be made by dissolving sugar in water or by reducing naturally sweet juices such as

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...

juice,

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

juice, or

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

sap.

is made from

corn starch Cornflour, cornstarch, maize starch, or corn starch (American English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the seed, kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thick ...

using an enzymatic process that converts it to sugars. A

must weight Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice (must) and, hence, indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar.refractometer A refractometer is a laboratory or field device for the measurement of an Refractive index, index of refraction (refractometry). The index of refraction is calculated from the observed refraction angle using Snell's law. For mixtures, the index ...

is used to determine the sugar content in the solution.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Drink mixers Demulcents Dosage forms Polymers Condiments