This easy lemon syrup is made with just two ingredients and a bit of time—zero cooking required! This luscious syrup is perfect in drinks, fruit salad, or for flavoring whipped cream.
Place a large, non-reactive bowl on a scale. Tare (zero out) the weight of the bowl, then add the lemon rinds. Divide this weight in half to determine how much sugar you need to add to the bowl.
2 parts spent lemon rinds
Stir the lemon rinds and sugar together until the rinds are coated in the sugar. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 3-4 hours or up to 12 hours, stirring well every hour or so.
1 part granulated sugar
Your syrup is done when the lemon rinds have broken down some, the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture is extremely syrupy.
Using a piece of cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve, strain the syrup, pressing the lemon rinds with a muddler or wooden spoon to squeeze out as much of the syrup as possible.
Store in jars or bottles in the refrigerator for up to a month. Use in cocktails, mocktails, fruit salads, in whipped cream, etc.
Notes
This is a no-cook syrup that uses spent or used lemon rinds–lemons that have been juiced and even zested. I like to store my spent lemons in a zip-top bag in the freezer, adding more as I have them. Once the bag is full, I make a batch of this syrup.
If your lemon rinds are frozen, you may need to let the mixture rest for up to 12 hours.
This is an extremely forgiving recipe, so do not stress if your measurements are not exact or if you are not able to stir the mixture every hour. You will still get a lovely lemon syrup from it!