Years and years ago I bought Sweet ‘n’ Low. In fact, those pink little packets of artificial sweetener were staples in our tea and coffee cupboard, not because we liked the taste, but because we liked sweet tea. Here in California, tea is not usually served already sweetened. You have to sweeten it yourself.
But sugar and honey don’t easily dissolve in cold beverages. Sweet ‘n’ Low does.
Keeping sweetener on hand is certainly convenient, but I like something that’s healthier, and preferably something I can make myself.
Over the years I’ve found ways to make tea sweet without using an artificial sweetener. Last year I started making regular batches of Simple Syrup. This past Spring after I did the Whole 30, I decided that I wanted to reduce my processed sugars and keep moving toward natural sweeteners.
I tried honey in a slushie one night and just got big globs of cold honey goo. I went to bed thinking about honey in cold drinks. How could I sweeten something with it and still have it dissolve. I woke up with the answer.
Honey Syrup
Honey Syrup is simply a simple syrup made with honey instead of sugar. And it’s easier and quicker to make than Simple Syrup. You can make it in a sauce pan or simply combine very hot water with honey. Easy peasy.
Use this syrup to sweeten homemade smoothies, sodas, teas, and coffee drinks.
- Heat the water until very hot.
- Stir in the honey until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
- Store in a covered jar in the fridge. Chill until ready to use.
Nutritional values are approximate and are based on 1/8 cup of the recipe (makes about 2 cups). Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 4 days.
This is part of the DIY Convenience Foods series.
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And then everyone in the world thinks “Why didnt I think of that?” 😉 I just tend to add the honey to room temp water and get it stirred up well, then add whatever Im adding to it.. Your way is sure more convenient though, for sure. 🙂
Yeah, I had the same a-ha moment, too.
Same here; been reducing the processed sweet. Thanks for sharing (so simple!) recipe. 🙂
Does this still last forever like honey alone does.
No. I keep it only about a week, just to be on the safe side.
How hot does the water have to be? do you think it can be achieved in a microwave as I live in a dorm and agave nectar for my iced coffee is expensive.
Yes. That should be fine. As hot as it takes to soften the honey so that it would thicken up and be hard to dissolve. Hopefully that makes sense.