Fresh Pineapple Syrup Recipe

By
Stella Parks
Stella Parks
Stella Parks
Editor Emeritus
Stella Parks is a CIA-trained baking nerd and pastry wizard, dubbed one of America's Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine. She was the pastry editor at Serious Eats from 2016 to 2019.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated Mar. 19, 2020
20180625-pineapple-syrup-vicky-wasik-10
Photograph: Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Pineapple cores are acidic enough to dissolve up to half their weight in sugar, imparting a strong flavor and vivid color without any added water, flavoring, or dye.
  • A single lemon rind balances the natural sweetness of pineapple.
  • The molasses-y notes in raw or semi-refined sugars add complementary complexity to the tropical fruit.
  • Nonreactive equipment keeps the syrup's flavor clean and fresh.

Fresh pineapple is a luxury of its own, so make the most of it by putting the core (and eyelets) to good use in this fresh, no-cook syrup. The acidic juice in the fruit scraps is more than enough to dissolve the sugar, creating a thick and flavorful liquid. Plain or toasted sugar works well, but the complexity of raw or semi-raw sugar, like jaggery and palm sugar, or even turbinado and Demerara, is an especially good match for pineapple. Use this syrup as a mixer in your favorite cocktails, or for a pineapple twist on Lemon Chantilly and Crispy Candied Pistachios.

Recipe Facts

5

(4)

Active: 10 mins
Total: 4 hrs
Serves: 4 servings
Makes: 1/2 cup

Rate & Comment

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces diced pineapple core and pips (about 2/3 cup; 170g), from 1 medium pineapple

  • 3 ounces (85g) "used" lemon or lime (the leftover rind after juicing), diced, from 1 medium citrus

  • 4 1/2 ounces raw or semi-raw sugar (about a heaping 1/2 cup; 115g), such as jaggery, turbinado, Demerara, or palm sugar (see note)

Directions

  1. Toss the pineapple and lemon rind with the sugar in a large glass, ceramic, or stainless steel mixing bowl. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature, stirring once every 45 minutes or so, until sugar has completely dissolved, about 4 hours (or up to 12 hours if timing is an issue).

  2. Strain fruit scraps through a fine-mesh stainless steel strainer set over a nonreactive bowl, pressing and mashing on the fruit with a flexible spatula to extract as much syrup as possible; discard scraps. Use immediately or refrigerate syrup for up to 3 months in a glass bottle or pint jar.

Special equipment

Fine-mesh strainer

Notes

If the raw sugar is not in granular form, or if the crystals are especially large and coarse, grind the sugar in a food processor until the grain size is quite fine.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
116 Calories
0g Fat
29g Carbs
0g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 116
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 11%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 2mg 8%
Calcium 4mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 12mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes