Homemade lemon simple syrup transforms cocktails, lemonade, and even cakes! It's sweet with a bright, zesty tang thanks to fresh lemon zest and juice. Ready in under 10 minutes.
In a bowl rub the lemon zest and granulated sugar together until the texture of wet sand forms, and all the granules have been rubbed together. This releases the lemon oil into the sugar for more flavor.
¼ cup lemon zest, 1 cup granulated sugar
In a saucepan, whisk together the lemon zest and sugar mixture, fresh lemon juice, and granulated sugar.
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Bring to a simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved completely. Remove from heat and strain the zest and any pulp through a fine mesh sieve. If you want to remove even finer particles, use a cheesecloth.
Let cool and transfer to a glass jar or other airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.
Notes
Recipe yields approximately 1 1/2 cup simple syrup.
Take care to not grate the pith (the white inner part after the zest) or the syrup will be bitter.