Pink Strawberry Milk - does that bring back a flood of childhood memories, or what? Homemade strawberry syrup shaken or stirred, with ice cold milk, makes a welcome treat for kids of all ages!
I remember my five year old self, knees on a stool, leaning on the kitchen table, stirring up a tall glass of pink milk. I thought I was so grown up! And I also thought I was having such a healthy 'fruit' drink. Turns out, those powders and syrups are usually mostly sugar, and to make matters worse, strawberries aren’t even IN them! So I’m making this healthy-ish version instead, with REAL strawberries and yes, real sugar, but a lot less than the store-bought kind, and free from the added nasties! You can use this syrup over pancakes or ice cream too, but having it with cold milk just conjures up memories of little me stirring away to my heart’s content. Want some?
Ingredients for Strawberry Syrup - makes 4 servings
1 lb. frozen or fresh strawberries. Thawed if frozen.
1/4 cup (48g) sugar or (85g) honey
1/4 cup (60ml) water
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add the strawberries to a saucepan with the sugar, water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer until the strawberries start to break down, you can mash them up with a wooden spoon a bit if you like. Simmer for about 10 minutes, remove from the heat, add vanilla extract and cool.
Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve with a spoon. You can keep the fiber left behind to add to muffins, pancakes or your next breakfast bowl. Store the syrup in the fridge for up to three days.
To make the strawberry milk, combine 3 tablespoons of syrup with 6oz. cold milk or almond milk. Shake or stir, sit back and reminisce about your childhood!