There’s something magical about transforming simple ingredients of herbs, fruits, and spices into a flavorful syrup that can elevate everyday drinks and desserts. In The Chef’s Kitchen, we recently welcomed Clinical Herbalist, Lisa Fouladbash of Sequoia Herbals in Durham, to share her expertise and creativity. Lisa led us through the process of making herbal syrups from scratch, showing just how fun (and delicious) it can be!

Why Herbal Syrups?

Herbal syrups are a versatile way to capture the essence of fresh ingredients and add a burst of flavor to your favorite recipes. Think sodas and mocktails, drizzles for coffee or tea, toppings for ice cream, or even a creative twist in marinades. The possibilities are endless, and once you learn the basics, you can tailor them to your taste.

The Basic Method

Lisa shared a simple starting point for crafting syrups at home:

1. Choose Your Base: Select fresh or dried herbs, fruits, or spices. Mint, lavender, ginger, rosemary, lemon balm, and citrus peels are all great options.
2. Create an Infusion: Simmer your chosen ingredients gently in water to draw out their flavors. Strain out the solids.
3. Add Sweetener: Combine the infusion with sugar or honey (typically equal parts liquid to sweetener) and stir over low heat until dissolved.
4. Bottle & Store: Pour into a clean glass jar or bottle, let cool, and refrigerate. Herbal syrups typically last a month or two in the fridge.

Get Creative

Once you’ve mastered the basics, the fun really begins. Try pairing herbs and fruits like hibiscus with raspberries, or rosemary with orange zest, for a more complex flavor. Add a dash of herbal bitters for depth, or a pinch of warming spices like cinnamon or cardamom.

How to Use Them

• Stir into sparkling water for a homemade soda
• Mix into mocktails or cocktails
• Add a spoonful to your morning coffee or latte
• Drizzle over vanilla ice cream or pancakes
• Brush onto cakes for extra flavor and moisture

A Taste of the Workshop

During the class, students experimented with cardamom, rosemary, cinnamon, tulsi, ginger and even floral notes like hibiscus and rose to create unique combinations. The kitchen buzzed with creativity as each person bottled their own refreshing creation to take home.

As Lisa reminded us, “Herbal syrups are about more than flavor, they’re a way to connect with plants, explore creativity, and share joy through food.”

So next time you want to brighten up a drink or dessert, try making your own herbal syrup. Who knows, you may discover your new signature flavor!

Making a Syrup:

An herbal syrup is much more concentrated than a tea (after all, we only take 1-2 spoonfuls at a time). To make a syrup, we start with a very strong water extract:

For most syrups, we’ll do a decoction, or simmer the herbs in boiling water for 15-25 min. This is especially helpful when using herbs that are woody (spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves; roots like ashwagandha; bark; dried mushrooms) with tough cell walls, or when we add fruit.

Occasionally,for herbs that are very aromatic (like rose, mint, lavender), we may choose to do an infusion instead- simply steep the herbs in boiled water and leave it covered (so the volatile oils that give it that lovely smell don’t escape).

Once we have the extract, we’ll strain out the herbs and measure it, then add an equal volume of sugar or honey (so if you have 1 cup of extract, add 1 cup of sweetener.) The high sugar content helps preserve the syrup in the fridge). You may need to reheat on low to dissolve the sugar.

Now taste your creation, noting it’ll be sweet! Add to a jar, label with ingredients and the date, and store in the fridge. Use within a few months and discard if there is any mold.

Basic Recipe for a Syrup

Equipment:

• Small pot
• Large stirring spoon
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Small metal bowl (1-2)
• Metal strainer
• Glass jar and label to store

Basic Syrup Recipe (makes about 10 oz)

• Dried herbs and spices – 1- 1.5 oz by weight
• Filtered water – 10-12 oz
• Sugar or honey (equal parts volume of the final extract)
• Optional organic fruits, orange peel, lemon peel, etc

Instructions:

Part 1: Make the Extract (decoction)

• Measure out dried herbs, add to a small pot. Pop open the cardamom pods
• Add filtered water to the herbs
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, stir and cover. (Tip: If using very aromatic herbs, like tulsi and rose, try steeping instead).
• Keep covered and simmer 15-20 min, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
• Remove from heat, and strain through a metal filter into a bowl.

Part 2: Making the syrup

• Measure your extract using measuring cups (glass or metal preferred)
• Add an equal volume of sugar or honey to the extract (so if you have ½ cup extract, add ½ cup sugar, etc.)
• Stir until it dissolves. You may need to put this over low heat.
• Your syrup is finished! Remove from heat and taste (it will be sweet!).
•  Store in a glass jar or bottle in the fridge. Make sure to label it with the ingredients and the date. Use within a few months (discard if it develops mold, but the high sugar content should prevent that!)

Recipes

Ashwagandha Apple Chai Syrup

Flavor: Sweet chai spice, with a hint of apple.

Add to: Hot/iced apple cider; coffee or black tea; milk/oat milk; top over ice cream.

Benefits: Ashwagandha is an adaptogen that supports the stress response, promoting a calmer mind and restful sleep when used over time. Chai spices promote digestion and are warming to the body. This is a lovely syrup for cold winter days!

Note: Not for use in pregnancy or in cases of iron overload.

Recipe

Makes 8-10 oz syrup, keep refrigerated. Use within 3 months

Ingredients:

• Filtered water (12 oz)
• Sugar/honey- about ½ -1 cup (equal parts by volume of the extract)
• Optional: Organic apple, sliced (1/2)

Dried Herbs

• Ashwagandha- 2 tbsp
• Cinnamon- 1.5 tbsp
• Ginger-1-1.5 tbsp
• Orange peel (dried) – 1 tbsp
• Cardamom- 7-10 pods
• Allspice-10 berries
• Cloves-10-12 cloves

Instructions: see above

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Hibiscus Raspberry Syrup

Flavor: This tart red syrup packs a punch, with a hint of rose and raspberry

Variations: Not a rose fan? Leave it out. You can play with the fruits – try adding pomegranate, strawberries, or another red/purple berry! Add a little organic orange peel for a hint of bitter.

Benefits: Packed with antioxidants, hibiscus and red berries promote heart health.

Add to: Bubbly water for a delicious, red mocktail. Try adding muddled fruit, a slice of orange peel, bitters, a couple drops of clove or cardamom extract, or a sprig of fresh mint. You can also top over ice cream or pancakes!

Recipe

Makes 8-10 oz syrup, keep refrigerated. Use within 3 months

Ingredients:

• Filtered water (12 oz)
• Sugar/honey- about ½ -1 cup (equal parts by volume of the extract)
• Dried hibiscus –3/4 cup
• Dried rose- ¼ cup
• Fresh or frozen organic raspberries,1/2 cup (or pomegranate or other red berry)
• Variations: Try making with another fruit, a little orange peel, or even a few cardamom pods, cloves, or a touch of cinnamon!

Instructions: See above

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Tulsi-Rose Cardamom Syrup

Taste: Tulsi is holy basil, which tastes a bit like cloves or anise. It pairs beautifully with rose, which adds a delicate floral flavor, and cardamom.

Variations: Tulsi also pairs well with blueberries, with lemon balm, or with ginger. Feel free to experiment!

Benefits: Tulsi helps lift the spirit and promotes joy, while calming stress. Rose has an energetic effect for the heart- supporting self-love and compassion.

Add to: Bubbly water for an uplifting mocktail, with optional muddled blueberries. Or top over ice cream or pancakes with fresh berries

Recipe

Makes 8-10 oz syrup, keep refrigerated. Use within 3 months

Ingredients:

• Filtered water (10-12 oz)
• Sugar/honey- about ½ -1 cup (equal parts by volume of the extract)
• Dried tulsi – 1 cup
• Dried rose- ½ cup
• Cardamom- 3-4 pods, crushed
• Optional variations: a little orange peel, blueberries, hibiscus

Instructions:

Part 1 (without fruit*): Making the extract

• Measure out dried herbs, add to a small pot. Pop open the cardamom pods
• Boil water, and pour over herbs. Cover. Steep 10-15 min.
• Strain through a metal filter into a bowl

*Note: If adding fruit, make a decoction instead to make sure the fruit cooks down (simmer, covered for 10-15 min). If adding rose, add it at the end, after turning off the heat, to steep for 5 min covered (so it’s not too astringent).

Part 2: Making the syrup

• Measure your extract using measuring cups
• Add an equal volume of sugar or honey to the extract
• Stir until it dissolves. You may need to put this over low heat.

• Your syrup is finished! Remove from heat.
• Store in a glass jar or bottle in the fridge. Make sure to label it with the ingredients and the date. Use within a few months (discard if it develops mold, but the high sugar content should prevent that!)

Resources

Contact:
Lisa Fouladbash, Clinical Herbalist
Questions? Email Sequoiaherbals@gmail.com
Sequoia Herbals  | Sequoiaherbals.com  | Ig/Fb: @sequoiaherbals