Mint Syrup..a Refreshing Memory of Spring!

copyright 2010, Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc, Maria Liberati
Mint, another flavor of Spring and Summer…a flavor we want to remember all year round.
 
….that the mounds of ices, and the bowls of mint-julep and sherry cobbler they make in these latitudes, are refreshments never to be thought of afterwards, in summer, by those who would preserve contented minds.
Charles Dickens, while traveling in America (1842)

Mint syrup is has become ‘de rigeur’ or a something we can’t do without in my house during the warmer months, to refresh, cool down and create all sorts of drinks and desserts.
Mint Syrup
3 lbs of fresh peppermint leaves (no stems)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 fresh lemon
1/2 cup water
Wash and clean peppermint, remove leaves from stems. Dry carefully. Pass leaves through a potato ricer. Place this compost with juice from the mint in a ceramic or glass bowl with juice of one lemon and peel of one lemon. Let sit, covered for approx 2 hours. Place water and sugar in a saucepan and let bring to a boil, remove from heat let cool and before it thickens, pour into mint juice and stir. When syrup is cool, sieve out the peppermint leaves, remove lemon peel and place in jars, top.
For more recipes get your copy of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Winner- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions
April 14th-Book signing at Free Library of Philadelphia
Visit me at OpenSky