We are very fortunate in that a local church has started a community larder. Each morning, they pick up surplus groceries that would have gone to landfill from the Co-Op and lay it all out on
There were a few limes there this morning, so I took 3 and made some lime syrup with them. The limes wouldn’t have lasted much longer, they were beginning to dis-colour and had small brown patches on them.

What is simple syrup?

Simple syrup is simply sugar dissolved in water to make liquid sweetener. It’s sometimes also called ‘sugar syrup’.

Being a liquid, the syrup means that sweetness is evenly distributed through hot and cold drinks and that makes it a very useful ingredient for many iced drinks and cocktails. Because the sugar is already dissolved, this is an especially useful characteristic for drinks like iced tea and coffee.

The lime simple syrup that I am making here today is a simple syrup with added lime zest and juice to make a fresh and citrussy syrup for use in all kinds of things.

Can you buy simple syrup?

You can buy a pre-made bottle of simple syrup in the liquor / alcohol department of your local grocery store, at any liquor store or online.  This might be your best option if you just want to make a few cocktails, although making it at home is always going to be a lot cheaper.
When I was looking to see where you could buy simple syrup, I was amazed at how many choices there are out there. If I was playing and wanted some flavoured syrups, I would consider buying flavours such as strawberry, hazelnut, rhubarb or passion fruit.

For a flavour I can make at home though, it’s going to be a lot cheaper to make it myself.

How to make a simple lime syrup

Put a measure of ordinary granulated sugar, and the same measure of water into a saucepan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved. You can use any measure, so long as you stick to the same one for both the sugar and the water.

I used 3 limes as that is what I had from the community larder table. I wouldn’t want to make more than this at any one time. It takes so little time, I think it’s best to make small quantities and retain that super fresh flavour.

If you add the lime zest and juice while the syrup is hot, you will lose some of that gorgeous freshness, so wait until it has cooled before adding it.

200g of sugar, and 250ml of water, together with the zest and juice of 3 limes, yielded a total of 350ml of fresh lime syrup.

What to do with the carcasses

Once you have zested and juiced your limes, you could pop a couple in a jug to flavour the water. Let them soak for a while.

When you’ve finished with them, put the carcasses in the freezer for the next time you make lemon carcass jam. Limes would add a zingy new flavour to it.

Lemon Peel Jam on toast with cream cheese

Once you have combined the sugar syrup and the lime zest and juice, store in the fridge in a bottle or jar that you have sterilised first.

To sterilise it, make sure it’s clean. Some people use a jar fresh from the dishwasher. If not from the dishwasher, immerse in boiling water for a minute and let drip dry.

How to use your delicious lime syrup

• Use in iced tea
• Or cocktails
• Would be lovely on drizzle cakes
• Add a drizzle to a homemade cocktails
• Use a spoonful on a fruit salad

Changes you can make to your lime syrup

Instead of limes, try

• Replacing the lime with lemon
• Or an orange or two
• Or Seville oranges, in their brief season. Or freeze to use later
• Tangerine or Clementine would be good too
• A mix of lemon and lime
• Or a mix of any citrus fruit, whatever you have, would all work well

Other uses for limes

Coconut & Lime Rice – vegan

Peanut Butter Noodles. Add chicken or fish, or keep it vegan

Love Your Leftovers – Citrus. Peelings, Pith & Pips