Making Syrup

Question

I am reading something about making sugar syrup as follows.

...It makes your cocktail making much much simpler. It balances perfectly with citrus one to one. So what you're doing is your dissolving the sugar in the water. It's the drinks equivalent of a chef having stock on hand. So that's it. It's really simple, you can make it by the batch, just make sure you keep it in equal parts, sugar and water, keep it sealed in the fridge and it will last for weeks...

I am not sure what the two underlined sentences mean.

1. How does citrus balance with the syrup? What does "one to one" stand for? 1:1?

2. I am totally lost about "the drinks equivalent of a chef having stock on hand". Does "stock" here mean "soup" or something?

Please help!

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Lcchang It balances perfectly with citrus one to one.

There is no context for us to determine what "it" refers to, but the recipe calls for 1 part of citrus for one part of "it."
That is equal parts of "it" and citrus.

LcchangIt's the drinks equivalent of a chef having stock on hand.

By "drinks" the author means the bartender's craft of making cocktails, as contrasted with the chef's craft of cooking.

The ingredients which have a long storage life that a chef keeps in the pantry and fridge is called his "stock." He stocks up on flour, sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, pepper, etc. When a chef cooks, he uses some fresh ingredients (fresh vegetables, meat, eggs), and some ingredients from his stock.

Anonymous · Answer

My take on this is different. What is being described here is the making of sugar syrup, for use in making cocktails (mixed alcoholic drinks like you get in a bar: daiquiris, zombies, manhattans, etc.). Some cocktails call for sugar syrup, and if you don't have it handy, it's a pain to make it from scratch. So it's best to make it beforehand so you have it ready if the recipe calls for it. It's simple to make: sugar and water in equal parts, by volume. And it's best to make it in a large batch and store it in the refrigerator (you'll use it pretty quickly if you make a lot of cocktails).

"It balances perfectly with citrus one to one." means sugar syrup just happens to mix well with any citrus juice (orange, lime, lemon, etc.) in a one to one ratio, by volume - no measuring needed, which is convenient and time-saving.

"It's the drinks equivalent of a chef having stock on hand." means sugar syrup, for a bartender, is like soup stock that a chef prepares beforehand so he doesn't have to make if from scratch if the recipe calls for it (many recipes call for "stock"). You make stock by boiling any kind of meat and bone scraps - and then storing it in the refrigerator.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Yes, there are two definitions of "stock."

I ordered a widget from a store and will get it right away because they had it in stock. (Stores order large quantities of widgets so they will have them to sell to customers. What is not sold yet is "in stock.")
I ordered a widget on-line, but it was out of stock. I will have to wait some time to get it.

The second definition is specifically for cooking. Stock is the liquid that you get after boiling bones with carrots, celery, onions and other vegetables that give it good flavor. You can buy stock in cans, but it's good to make a large amount, and store it for using later.

Making Syrup

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions