Candy Sugar Syrup
Charlotte_0'Neil
make myself.
I make my own invert sugar syrup by heating plain white sugar in an
aluminum foil pan under the broiler until it melts and turns anything
from golden brown to deep mahogany red. Then I let it cool, when it is
easy to remove from the foil pan and put it in water and let it
dissolve. I keep adding more cooked sugar until the water will not
absorb any more, leaving me with a thickish syrup that looks and tastes
much like maple syrup.
All of my ale-making is done using this invert sugar syrup. You can
also make invert (candy) sugar by boiling it in water (I have heard) or
you can order it online from your local homebrewing supply store. I
rarely can roast the sugar all at once, and usually have to stop and
let it cool so I can turn it over, break it up, pull out the bits that
are dark red and leave the parts that are still granular sugar for
later cooking.
If you didn't want to make invert sugar, you could probably make a
simple sugar syrup with water and sugar in a ratio of 1 part water to 1
and 1/2 parts water and use that as a substitute.
Corn syrup and golden syrup are a little thicker than the syrup I make,
so it you were going to use that as a substitute, I would suggest you
dilute it with a little water. I don't know how much since I've never
done it, but making an educated guess, I'd say 3 parts corn syrup or
golden syrup to 1 part water. If anyone reading this ever tries it, let
me know how it turns out and I can include the information here for
others to follow.
Charlotte_0'Neil
<< > I keep adding more cooked sugar until the water will not
> absorb any more, leaving me with a thickish syrup that looks and tastes
> much like maple syrup. >>
This looks and taste so much like maple syrup, I decided to try adding
some real maple. I got some young branches and twigs and slow-cooked
them in the crockpot in water overnight, and then used that water to
make the syrup (adding it to the invert sugar). The results are
amazing. This stuff *is* maple syrup.