Most people, when preparing strawberries, immediately cut off the green tops and throw them away. However, it turns out they can be useful in the kitchen. Home cooking enthusiasts suggest using them to make a fragrant strawberry syrup. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The recipe was shared by food blogger Elly Curshen. According to her, this method helps reduce food waste and yields a natural syrup that is perfect for summer drinks and desserts.
It's very simple. Place strawberry tops in a jar or container and add an equal weight of sugar. Close the lid, shake well, and refrigerate. Every time you open the fridge, give the container another gentle shake. After one to two days, the sugar will draw out the juice from the strawberry scraps, turning into a fragrant syrup.
See this Instagram post Publication from Elly Curshen 🍐 (@ellypear)
If after a couple of days the sugar hasn't fully dissolved, the blogger suggests adding a little water to speed up the process. After that, simply strain the syrup and pour it into a clean container. It can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks, and with proper storage even up to six months.
The finished syrup can be added to tea, lemonades, and cocktails, drizzled over ice cream, yogurt, pancakes, or fruit salads. This life hack is especially relevant now, at the height of strawberry season. While the berries are sold at almost every market and store, you can make aromatic syrup from their "scraps" instead of just throwing them away.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle wrote that a simple but unexpectedly tasty snack — dates with butter and salt — is popular on social media. Users share videos, experiment with salt, nuts, and spices, and argue about how healthy it actually is.