Lemon balm-Hugo-mint syrup

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 10 stalks of lemon balm
• 5 sprigs of mint (Hugo mint or cocktail mint)
• 3 kg sugar
• 3 liters of water
• 1 lime(s), preferably untreated, juice
• 50 g citric acid powder

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 day 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 14 hours 50 minutes

hot brewed, approx. 12 bottles of 250 ml each

To disinfect the bottles, you’ll need vodka and gauze swabs. First, hold the lemon balm and mint leaves in a large colander under cold, running water and carefully rinse them well. Separate the leaves from the stems, for example, using garden shears. Squeeze the lime. Bring the water to a boil in a very large pot and stir the sugar, lime juice, and citric acid into the boiling water. Stir until everything is clear. Then place the lemon balm and mint leaves in a very large bowl. Pour the boiling-hot sugar water directly from the stove over the leaves, making sure they are completely covered. Then return everything to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil again briefly. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool completely. Now place everything in the refrigerator and let it steep in the cold for about 24-36 hours. When the essential vapors are so intense that they resemble strong mint candies, the syrup is just right. After 24 – 36 hours, place the glass bottles to be filled (approx. 12 x 250 ml) completely WITHOUT the caps in boiling water for 10 minutes. The bottles must be full of water. When the sugar water has finished steeping, bring everything with the leaves to a final boil. Clean the disassembled bottle caps individually with vodka swabs. Don’t forget the inside of the bottle neck! Remove the leaves from the syrup (careful, they’re hot!) and squeeze out all the excess using salad servers. Pour the hot syrup through a coffee filter in a funnel into the hot bottles. Remove any remaining syrup from the bottle necks again with the gauze swabs and close the bottles tightly. Then let the syrup cool in the refrigerator. Enjoy your syrup ice cold with sparkling water as a lemonade or with still water as an iced tea.