Give your holiday drinks a festive twist with this homemade pine needle syrup. It tastes herbaceous and is paired with vanilla bean for an incredible spin on anything you're sipping on this season!
In a small saucepan over medium/high heat, heat the water, sugar, pine needles and vanilla beans until it comes to a simmer
Stir to dissolve the sugar and continue simmering gently for 5 minutes, reduce heat and let simmer on low for an additional 5 minutes
Remove from heat and let the liquid cool
Lastly, strain into a jar (with an airtight lid)
Let cool completely before using in drink of choice
Notes
What is the shelf life of this syrup? Sugar is used in cooking as a preservative— think jams and jellies, which are also called preserves. So simple syrups have a decent shelf life, when prepared and stored properly: made with very hot water and stored in a sterile container in the refrigerator. A 1:1 simple syrup like this one lasts one month when refrigerated.Can I use this in a latte or coffee? Yes! I love to add my syrup into my frothed milk, but you can add it to your espresso or coffee as well.How do I store this syrup? The recommended way to store simple syrup is to use an airtight container that's been sterilized.