Day 193 - Thai Basil simple syrup

Simple syrups are an indispensable ingredient in Pantries, especially if you like mixing cocktails & non alcoholic drinks.Its basically 3 ingredients, Water, Sugar and the aromatic ingredient. The proportion is 1 cup of water to 2 cups of sugar, but its up to you how much of the aromatic ingredient you want to add. The more ingredient, the stronger the aroma. I like to use a whole bunch of basil for 2 cups of sugar.

You need:
2 cups sugar (I use the vegan organic, unbleached crystals which yields a  golden color)
1 cup water
1 bunch Thai basil, thoroughly rinsed and shaken dry

Combine the water and sugar in a heavy saucepan, allow the sugar to dissolve completely on medium heat. add the Thai basil leaves and lower the heat allowing the liquid to simmer and reduce to your preference of viscosity. (the leaves would have thoroughly wilted by this time. Allow to cool to room temperature and strain into clean bottles. Store in the refrigerator.
Don't discard the wilted leaves just yet, they still have a lot of sugar syrup coating them. Squeeze out the juice from a lime into the pan, add chilled water and strain out into a glass for a bonus limeade.