Homemade Golden Syrup

Megary

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I thought I’d start a thread in the (unlikely, :p) event anyone decides to try this someday. I had searched the forums here and there was some discussion of making a Lyle’s Golden Syrup substitute, but it was scattered about in a few different places. I’m hoping that if anyone decides to make this, or is already an expert at making this, they could just add to this thread with their experiences.

In 2 weeks I plan to make a beer that calls for Lyle’s Golden Syrup and since I had some time, I thought I’d make my own. In no way do I believe this will taste like Lyle’s (actually, I wouldn’t know, having never tasted it) but it’s certainly cheap enough to try. Who knows, with all the knowledge that floats around here, maybe at some point it can even be better!

Searching the web and watching some videos, I saw a few different ways to make this. As is my nature, I chose what appeared to be the easiest:
https://www.daringgourmet.com/how-to-make-golden-syrup/

What I liked about the above recipe is that it started with the full volume of water as opposed to adding boiling water during the process. Since it was my first shot I cut the recipe in half, in case I fouled it up.

Below:
2 cups of pure cane sugar (400 grams)
5/8 cup of water. (150ml)
Stirred to incorporate.
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Bring to a boil and add (1 tablespoon) lemon juice.

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Reduce heat to allow for a gentle simmer. The goal is approximately 240F / 116C. I found this goal a bit tricky. A gentle simmer got me to about 220. A little more heat got me to 230. A little more, 237. Good enough. Checking the temperature again in a few minutes and it was at 260! Readjust, and move on.

After 30 minutes:

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After approximately 60 minutes, what I figured to be “done”.

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At this point I let the syrup cool and planned to strain it into a sterilized jar. But after cooling, the syrup had the consistency of honey, way too thick and not nearly as pourable as it should. Most likely due to the overshoot in temperature. So I added about 1/4 cup of water, reheated to a boil, boiled for a few minutes and cooled again. This seemed to do the trick.

Yield, about 1 cup (8oz).
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An initial taste test was promising, sort of a buttery syrup. Nice. No lemon taste despite some warnings that it might come through. Will this add any flavor to the English Pale I plan on making, added at about 10 minutes left to the boil? I doubt it, but maybe. Next time (if there is a next time) I may substitute a bit of brown sugar for a bit more depth of flavor. But this is pretty good as is.

For reference, the enameled pot was a breeze to clean afterwards.
 
You're making invert syrup. I think Lyle's is waste from sugar production, not sure. Can I ask why you left the lemon in? All you need is some acid to help the sugar invert.
 
Sounds exactly like making candi syrup. The Lyle's looks cool for the can and history alone.
Thanks for the rundown!
 
You're making invert syrup. I think Lyle's is waste from sugar production, not sure. Can I ask why you left the lemon in? All you need is some acid to help the sugar invert.
I read that the lemon juice keeps the sugar from crystallizing while it simmers. Did I need to leave the slice of lemon in there as opposed to just squeezing in some juice? Probably not, but most videos I watched did just that. Besides, the lemon tasted so good after I took it out. :)
 
Cool, thanks for sharing!
 
I read that the lemon juice keeps the sugar from crystallizing while it simmers. Did I need to leave the slice of lemon in there as opposed to just squeezing in some juice? Probably not, but most videos I watched did just that. Besides, the lemon tasted so good after I took it out. :)
You can use any acid. My recipe for invert syrup calls for citric acid, what you're getting from the lemon. The acid helps break the bond between the two sugars in sucrose. Candi sugar is a byproduct of refining beet sugar, Lyle's likely comes from cane sugar, making it a very light molasses.
 

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