Skip to main content

Why is crystal sugar better than sugar syrup

via TasteCocktails.com
There shall be a place for any produce and product in the bar.

Sugar syrup is quite convenient. To be honest, I don't really understand, how bars (*cough Le Lion Cafe de Paris) buy commercial products and don't make it themselves. It is really easy - and you need just a digital scale for a very good consistency. But you also save thousands of "currency" per year if you do so. You do have further the choice between different strengths and variations: simple syrup (my least favorite version) - which is 1:1 - rich syrup (my workhorse) which is 2:1 ratio - candy rock (you don't really need it) which is up to 7:1 - demerara syrup - I would suggest again a 2:1 ratio - this time though with demerara sugar (...). But this is not the story here.

For normal cocktails, rich syrup does a very good job. However fine caster sugar, works often better because of following reasons:

  • It doesn't dilute with additional water - hence you have better control about the strength of the drink.
  • The sugar granules are acting as "abrasives" - to help to extract e.g. herb essences, without raw force (which would influence the taste of the herb massively).
  • It keeps the "ritual" of classic drinks
    I am usually not very romantic - but rituals are very important in a bar. Otherwise you could do premade Old Fashioneds and store them in a freezer... It for sure taste the same, if you are doing it right.
  • Caster sugar is also a "foaming agent" - improves the foam head on your drink.
  • Caster sugar (sucrose) has a far more consistent sweetness - sugar syrup depends on the preparation (heat - sucrose will change to Sucrose and Fructose) and obviously the recipe, which isn't necessary always consistent.
These are points which are in the operation important - but I can still understand, that some bartenders are taking the shortcut to use syrup - as it is just far more convenient (especially if you don't have super fine caster sugar, but normal crystal sugar).

However there is one massive disadvantage, when it comes to sugar syrup in your MEP. Measuring the right amount for recipes - like homemade liqueurs, infusions, punches etc.

If you are analytical working like me, you have understood, how many grams of sugar leads to which kind of sweetness. 
  • A sweet (soft) drink usually has about 90 to 120 grams of sugar (sucrose).
    • These are your usual soft drinks.
  • A stronger drink with little "obvious" sweetness has about 25 to 55 g 
Hence if you make a homemade soda, or an Old Fashioned, it is very beneficial to understand, how much sugar in grams you have to add. With sugar syrup, that becomes insanely difficult - as sugar is a solution, it doesn't the volumes don't easily add up. Hence it becomes very unpractical, to calculate the sugar content of the recipe.

My verdict: use sugar syrup were it works - but don't forget your caster sugar!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to use citric acid - and why you might not want to use it anyway!

To be honest, I shied away of this topic, because I think, people can misinterpret this - big time. I don't want to be part of the problem - I want to be part of the solution!  But when Chris, over at A Bar Above  discussed this subject- I literally could not resist to join into "the discussion". Here is the video: I - however take a bit slower approach than Chris. What is citric acid? Chemical Compound Citric acid is a weak organic acid with the formula C6H8O7. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic or sour taste to foods and drinks. Wikipedia Formula: C6H8O7 Molar Mass: 192.124 g/mol Melting Point: 153C Density: 1.66 g/cm3 Boiling point: 175C Soluble in: Water Why is it controversial? In my "mixology world" it is controversial, as citric acid is the stuff, which makes the nightmarish sour mix [ preferably in powder form ] sour. Yeah - citric acid is the main ingredient in one of the most

Agar-Agar Clarification

Not often, I am posting here things, which are clearly not my ideas... However Dave Arnold is clearly a mad scientist [no, he really is!] - and he posted amazing stuff on his website www.cookingissues.com - no - don't click now - just follow the link later. One of the most impressive posts about mixology, besides of demystifying the mechanics of shaking, were clarification techniques. Look, after him, you could use a centrifuge [which would set you back a couple thousand bucks] and a chemical compound, which solidifies sediments. I am not a fan of that. Then there is gelatine clarification; this works quite well [I tried it several times my self] - you gelatinize a liquid [with little gelatine only], freeze it, thaw it [in the fridge] over a colander and a muslin cloth. Thats it. Unfortunately this has several problems: Gelatine is made out of animal bones - hence it is neither vegetarian nor vegan, which you won't usually expect of a beverage. You have to freez

King Robert II Vodka

Who would knew, that I am reviewing a budget vodka here - on the opinionatedalchemist.com. But this isn't a normal review. I skip the marketing perception and use this product to cut directly to the case: Vodka is a "rather" neutral, colorless, "rather" flavorless and odorless distilled beverage from any agricultural source - and depending on the country, it has a minimum of 37.5% and 40% abv. As I said time and time again before: at times it is absolutely nonsense to talk about premium and luxury, when the original product doesn't really "hold this promise". Luxury water can have luxurious marketing, luxurious packaging, can be even rare and slightly more expensive "to produce". However really it is just water. Maybe it has some nuances to normal water - however those nuances (in a blind-test) are pretty small. Vodka is extremely similar - and the chain of evidence (despite a lot of people trying to proof otherwise) makes it re