Golden Syrup made easy
 

Golden syrup, also known as invert syrup, is commonly used in making different desserts that brings in a good flavour. For those who are allergic to honey can use golden syrup instead.

Ingredients:

400 gm caster sugar
200 ml water
50 ml fresh lemon juice, sifted
 

Method:
1.Use a stainless pot, add sugar and water. Lightly swirl the pot to combine the sugar and water.

2.Turn on the heat to medium and bring it to a boil. Add lemon juice. When it boils again, reduce heat to low. Don’t ever stir or touch the sugar solution. Continue to cook up to 110 - 115C (230 - 240F), for about 45 minutes. Along the way of cooking syrup, damp a brush with water and brush away the sugar on the sides of the pot and avoid the sugar from being crystallized

3.When the syrup becomes amber, with a consistency close to honey but not yet. Remove from the heat. Let it cool and transfer to a clean air-tight jar. It’s ready for use after one or two days. The golden syrup can be stored up for several months to a year at room temperature. The longer the syrup matures, the more fragrance and favour it would bring up.

Notes:
1. During cooking , don’t leave the cooking sugar mixture unattended.
- The temperature of cooking syrup is crucial as the heat affects the consistency of sugar once it cools down. We are looking for sugar to be cooked up to 110-115C, suitable for making mooncake pastry.  When the syrup turns golden brown, spoon out a bit of syrup and make sure it’s cooled down. Place a drop between your thumb and index finger. A thin thread can be formed when separate your fingers. Or just simply cook to the consistency a bit thinner, or runny than honey.
2. When the syrup is still hot, it looks rather watery and runny. Once it cools down, it becomes thicker.
3. Use stainless steel pot to make syrup. Don’t ever use utensils that are made of steel or aluminum.
4. The longer you cook the syrup, the darker it becomes. Thus, make sure the stove heat is not too high, otherwise you’d lose all the water before getting the amber colour you want.
5.  If the syrup turns too hard after cooling down, this is because the syrup is cooked too long and lose too much water. Just add some more water, then re cook again, to your preferred consistency. Or vise versa, if the syrup is too runny, you can also heat it up and cook again.

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