Rosemary Simple Syrup with Vanilla

April 22, 2020

Since I’ve been nowhere but home for the past several weeks, I’ve really become attuned to the small subtle changes going on every day in the garden. My young clematis vines that I thought the chickens had destroyed over the winter have come back with vigor, last year’s sunflowers self-seeded and the little starts are popping out along the pathway, and my rosemary bush slowly changed from green to the most beautiful shade of blue-violet. Yep, this time of year even rosemary blooms, and I was so taken with the array of colors that it inspired me to make a rosemary simple syrup, to soak up their sweet fragrance and flavor just a little bit longer.

If you only have normal (aka non-blooming) rosemary around, don’t fret! This rosemary simple syrup can be made with regular rosemary and it will taste just as sweet and good. I love using this syrup in matcha lattes especially, but have also used and enjoyed it in coffee lattes, as a sweetener in both black, green, and herbal teas, and for a bit of flavor in cocktails (it’s especially good with gin!) I hope it gives you something fun to make with something many of us have in our yards. Also, rosemary is a really common landscaping plant in much of the world and grows really vigorously, so if you see some on your neighborhood walks, feel free to snip 3 sprigs for this recipe. It grows so fast, I’m sure they’d be happy to share their bounty a bit 🙂

And I hope you enjoy the above photo, Jeremy was cleaning out last year’s hive (the bees froze to death over the winter again sadly, this winter we’re going to wrap the outside of the hive in insulation to see if that helps) and I wanted to share what a frame from inside the hive looks like. The bees ate almost all the honey in this frame, which lets us know they survived into late winter. You can see the honey that’s still capped in the lower left hand corner, (it looks more white-ish). We installed the new hive this past Sunday, and the bees are looking really happy and were especially enjoying all the flowers in the yard earlier in the week. Fingers crossed we can get this hive to make it through the winter this year, would be so amazing to spend more than a year with these guys <3

Rosemary Simple Syrup

Whether you have standard green rosemary or some rosemary that's in bloom, this syrup will add the most delicious floral and herbal sweetness to any beverage. Makes about 3 cups syrup.

3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cups honey or granulated sugar
2 cups water
1 vanilla bean (optional) (cut vertically in half)

In a small saucepan, bring the honey and water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and, if you're using the vanilla bean, scrape the contents into the pot, then drop the spent pod into the pot as well. Stir to combine, then allow to cook for 10 minutes.
Add the rosemary sprigs and cook for 3 minutes more, then remove the pot from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove the rosemary sprigs from the syrup and compost them. Place the syrup (with the vanilla bean) in an airtight container like a mason jar, and keep refrigerated.
Makes about 3 cups syrup. Add a bit to your favorite beverages (matcha, lattes, tea, cocktails, spritzers, etc) for a sweet and floral kick.