This easy peach syrup is the perfect way to add fresh, natural peach flavor to your favorite drinks! This syrup requires very little effort, no cooking, and just a bit of patience.
Use fresh peach syrup in my Peach Green Tea Lemonade!
The oleo saccharum syrup method
To make this peach syrup, we’re using a process similar to how oleo saccharum is made. Oleo saccharum is a fancy term for using sugar to extract flavors from oily (or in this case, juicy) ingredients.
Oleo saccharum means ‘oily sugar’ and that’s exactly what it is. Citrus peels are tossed with sugar and left to sit.
After some time, the sugar and citrus oils form a rich syrup in the bottom of the bowl. The peels are discarded and the potent citrusy syrup is used to make classic drinks like punch.
Using the oleo method as inspiration, I’ve made syrups from all kinds of fruits and even vegetables.
But instead of extracting aromatic oils (like with the citrus peels), the sugar pulls out the flavorful juices from fruits like peaches, strawberries, melons, cucumbers and even bananas!
One distinct difference from classic oleo is that we will eventually also add water, which thins things just enough to make it easy to add to iced teas, lemonades, mocktails, or cocktails.
Minimal effort and a little patience
It does take a little bit of patience, but in as little as 30 minutes, you’ll start to see a beautiful, thick syrup forming in the bowl.
And although you do have to wait, you don’t have to sit around and tend to it, like a cooked syrup.
This syrup is easy to quickly prep when you have a few minutes, then go about your day and come back to virtually all the work already done for you.
The sugar does the heavy lifting, all you have to do is: chop some peaches, coat them with sugar, let them sit, add a little water, and strain. So easy and so delicious!
Another nice thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t require exact measurements. I provide the measurements that work for me below, but you can easily adapt this recipe to use more or less fruit, sugar, or water.
Why I don’t cook this syrup
I love the flavor of fresh peaches, and that’s the flavor I want in my syrup. This cold infusion method keeps that fresh flavor intact.
Cooking fruit syrups gives them a very different flavor, more like jam. A jammy flavor can be great over pancakes or in desserts, but for drinks like my Peach Green Tea Lemonade, I want the taste of freshly picked summer peaches.
Fresh peach syrup ingredients
- Fresh peaches
- Sugar
- Water
How to make the syrup
The first step is to gather your ingredients. Wash your fresh peaches and roughly chop them. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss the peaches with sugar. Stir gently to ensure that all of the fruit is coated.
Cover the bowl lightly with a dishcloth, and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
Check the mixture and stir gently. By this point, a lot of the sugar should be dissolved into a liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
Cover the bowl again and let sit for up to another 30 minutes. After 1 hour, the fruit should be very glossy and there should be quite a bit of syrupy liquid in the bowl.
Now you’ll pour the water over the fruit and syrup mixture and gently stir. If all of the sugar looks dissolved, you can strain out the solids now.
If not, let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then stir again and strain.
You can let the sugar and fruit mixture sit for longer than an hour if you want, but after about 2 hours it probably won’t become any more flavorful.
I think 1 hour is just long enough for a great fresh peach flavor.
Use a fine mesh strainer to prevent any large particles from ending up in the syrup.
If you want a fairly clear syrup, use care not to press on the solids when straining.
This finished peach syrup should be stored in the refrigerator in a closed container like a mason jar.
It will keep for about 2 weeks, but you can extend its life by adding a splash of vodka or grain alcohol.
After the syrup sits in the fridge for a day, you may notice that it appears clearer on top and cloudier on the bottom.
This is normal. It’s just small solid peach particles that weren’t strained out.
They will stay at the bottom of the jar if you don’t shake it, so just handle the jar gently when pouring and you’ll have a virtually clear peach syrup in your drinks.
You might also enjoy making honey syrup, hot honey syrup, or another seasonal favorite, lilac syrup!
Easy Fresh Peach Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh peaches, chopped (about 2 large peaches)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry peaches. Chop the fruit and add it to a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar to the bowl and toss the peaches to coat. Stir gently, making sure as much sugar is on the fruit as possible. Cover the bowl loosely with a dishcloth and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Check the peach and sugar mixture after 30 minutes, stirring gently. If you’re short on time, you can add the water now. Otherwise, cover and let the syrup sit for another 30 minutes. The mixture should be very syrupy, with most of the sugar dissolved into the liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Add ¾ cup room temperature or warm (but not hot) water and stir gently to dissolve any remaining sugar.
- If a lot of undissolved sugar remains, let the syrup sit for 10 minutes, gently stirring every few minutes.
- Strain the peaches from the syrup using a fine mesh strainer. Do not press on the solids unless you don’t mind a cloudy syrup. Reserve the peaches for topping ice cream, pound cake, or oatmeal, if desired.
- Store the peach syrup in a covered container (like a mason jar) in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Extend the shelf life a bit by adding 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of vodka or grain alcohol.