Simple syrup is an essential ingredient used in many dishes, especially drinks, to create a sweet flavour without worrying about sugar dissolving. If you use a lot of sugar syrup, you may consider freezing it. But is this possible?
Can You Freeze Simple Syrup?
Yes, you can freeze simple syrup for up to 3 months. Pour the syrup into an ice cube tray and allow those cubes to freeze solid. Then, transfer the cubes into a freezer bag, and use them as needed.
Do Does Simple Syrup freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Simple Syrup? Yes
How to Freeze Simple Syrup
Before freezing simple syrup, you need to be sure that the syrup is made freshly. Non-freshly made syrup could have some level of crystallization as it cools, which could prevent the syrup from having the best flavour and texture that you might hope for.
Therefore, a good first step for freezing syrup is to actually make the simple syrup itself. If you want a simple and to-the-point recipe then this one from Liquor is decent.
Once the syrup is made, and any flavourings are dissolved or otherwise processed into the syrup, you can begin to freeze it:
- Cool: We recommend starting off by allowing the syrup to cool entirely to room temperature, rather than beginning the freezing process while the syrup is still warm.
- Add to a Jug: Once the syrup is at room temperature, ensure that it’s in a container suitable for pouring from. A measuring jug is a common choice, though it’s certainly up to you. If you’d instead prefer to use a spoon with a spout, that would work very well too.
- Pour Into an Ice Cube Tray: Pour the simple syrup into the slots of an ice cube tray, trying to avoid overlap and spillage as much as possible – that will only serve to make the cleanup process more difficult for you later on.
- Freeze: Once the simple syrup is in the ice cube tray, move the tray to the freezer, and allow the ice cubes to freeze solid. This should take place overnight – that should be plenty of time for the cubes of syrup to freeze solid.
- Bag Up and Refreeze: Once the cubes of syrup are frozen, crack them out of the ice cube tray, and then move them to a freezer bag. Once they’re in the bag, they will store in the freezer very well for around three months.
3 Tips for Freezing Simple Syrup
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing simple syrup to have the best results:
Use Them to Line Your Freezer
As these ice cubes are, functionally, already freezer burned, you don’t need to worry about burn setting in throughout them. To that end, they can be used to line your freezer, thereby protecting the other food items in your freezer from freezer burn setting into them.
Consider Using an Ice Cube Tray
A plastic ice cube tray is typically the best tool for this job. The flexible nature of plastic means that the ice cubes can easily be popped out of the tray with little effort, allowing you to make batches of simple syrup ice cubes without needing to get too intricate and fiddly.
Be Wary of Spillages
Spilling these ice cubes can be a real pain – they don’t lose their stickiness with freezing. Instead, anywhere that these are dropped will need to be cleaned to prevent a sticky surface and, potentially, ants. Therefore, be wary of dropping them anywhere!
How Long Can You Freeze Simple Syrup?
You can freeze these simple syrup cubes for up to three months. They last very well in the freezer since there’s very little damage that can be done over a long period of cold interacting with them.
A plain, simple syrup will keep in an airtight container for around 4 weeks in the fridge. If it is flavoured, then it will only keep for 2 weeks in the fridge before the flavour dissipates.
How Do You Defrost Simple Syrup?
The simplest way to defrost simple syrup is to place the cubes in a container in your fridge overnight. They will thaw with time, and the syrup can be used for cooking or making cocktails.
Can You Refreeze Simple Syrup?
Yes, you can refreeze simple syrup without any significant degradation in quality.
Over several repeated freezing and thawing processes, you may notice that the cubes are sweeter, as some water will evaporate during the freezing and thawing process.
Does Simple Syrup Freeze Well?
Yes, simple syrup does freeze well.
By this, we mean that there will be no real, noticeable change or degradation in quality between the time the syrup was first frozen and when it was thawed.
For example, the texture is very unlikely to change – it will still be a liquid of the same viscosity.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing simple syrup or syrup in general, then these may help:
Yes, flavoured simple syrups can be frozen for around 2 months. There is a greater chance that the flavours will dissipate into the syrup over time which is why you should only freeze them for 2 months.
Yes, rich simple syrup can be frozen for around 3 months. The best approach is to freeze the syrup in the slots of an ice cube tray.
