This pandan syrup is a simple syrup with fresh pandan extract. It is natural, easy and perfect for making pandan based desserts and drinks!
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❤️Why you will love this recipe
- This is an easy simple syrup recipe with an Asian twist and unique aroma.
- With only 3 ingredients, this pandan syrup comes in a pretty emerald green color and is absolutely fragrant.
- The syrup is made using natural ingredients with a lovely natural green color. No artificial food coloring used.
- It is a great variation to regular simple syrup.
- It lasts well, so it is perfect to have a bottle of this pandan infused syrup to flavor your drinks and desserts anytime you want.
Like this syrup recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out
- Pandan Cake (Easiest Pandan Flavored Pound Cake)
- Pandan Cookies with Coconut and Gula Melaka (An Easy Recipe)
- Honey Lemonade (3 Ingredients Natural Goodness)
- Pandan Jelly with Coconut (Agar Agar Pandan)
- Pandan Cheesecake (Perfectly Baked & The Creamiest Ever!)
- Pandan Milk (Flavorful and Easy)
- Milk tea with Pandan (Easy Homemade Bubble Tea Recipe)
❓What is Pandan?
- Pandan is a green tropical plant with long, thin, blade-like leaves. It is dark green in color and is used widely in cooking the the Southeast Asia region.
- Pandan leaves are known as screwpine in English. Its scientific name is pandanus amaryllifolius.
- Pandan leaf is well known for its unique grassy flavor and hints of sweet floral notes. The flavor is often imparted into food by directly adding the leaves into the dishes while cooking. In almost all cooking, the leaves are discarded soon after cooking and never directly consumed. When used in this manner, it is only the aroma that gets infused in the food and not the color. They are not only used in making sweet dishes and drinks, they are also widely used in savory dishes.
- To use pandan as a natural colorant, it is ground with water and then the green juice is squeezed out. The pulp is discarded and the green pandan juice is used for both its natural color as well as fragrance.
📋Ingredients
- Pandan leaves - both fresh or frozen leaves will work for this recipe.
- Sugar - white sugar is the best (either coarse or granulated sugar will work) to preserve the green color of the syrup. Brown sugar might alter the green to a murky green.
- Water - use filtered water.
*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*
👩🏻🍳How to make
- The pandan syrup on this recipe is a simple syrup made with equal amount of sugar and water. The process begins by extracting the pandan juice (by processing it with water) and then cooking it with sugar to make the simple pandan syrup.
Extracting the fresh pandan juice
- Wash and pat the pandan leaves dry.
- Cut them into small 1-inch sizes and add them into a food processor.
- Add water and blend the leaves until fine.
- Strain the pandan juice with a cheesecloth or a strainer with fine mesh. I find it more effective to use the cheesecloth over a strainer to hold the cloth in place as I pour the blended leaves into the cloth. It is also easier to squeeze the juice in a cloth as compared to a strainer as press too much can break the strainer.
Making the syrup
- In a small pot, add the sugar.
- Pour in the pandan juice.
- Turn on the heat and cook the syrup on medium low fire.
- Continue to cook (stir occasionally) until the sugar is all dissolved.
- Turn of the heat and let the syrup cool down to room temperature before using or before storing it in the fridge.
- The syrup is ready for use. Use it as indicated in your recipe.
🍽️Serving & storage
- This pandan syrup can last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. It is not advisable to keep it out at room temperature for more than one day.
💡Expert tips
- When cooking the syrup, only cook it until the sugar is dissolved. You need to wait for the syrup to boil. This will result in the syrup thickening too much, unless you prefer it with a thicker consistency.
- The syrup will thicken further as it cools down, so that this into account when deciding the level of thickness of the syrup.
⭐What can you use the pandan syrup for?
- As a sweetener with a pandan flavor in milk tea beverages like this pandan milk tea and pandan milk. The syrup can also be used as a sweeteners to make simple iced teas with pandan flavor.
- As a drizzle over pancakes, waffles, or crepes, or used as a topping for ice cream or yogurt.
- Incorporated into custards, puddings, jellies, and panna cotta to give them a subtle pandan taste.
- Substitute with simple syrup to moisten and sweeten cakes before frosting them or incorporated into icings and glazes to create unique flavors.
💭FAQs
You can find pandan leaves in Asian grocery stores, markets or Asian supermarkets. They are available both fresh and frozen. Both the fresh and the frozen ones are suitable for making this simple syrup.
Technically, you can. The pandan leaves in the syrup are only for taste and color. Adjusting them will not change the consistency of your syrup.
If you like a stronger pandan taste in your syrup, you can increase the pandan leaves to 4. If you prefer a lighter pandan infused syrup, you can reduce the pandan leaves accordingly.
This recipe makes green colored pandan syrup. Despite the green color of the syrup, the color is not strong and when used in drinks and desserts, it is almost unnoticeable.
If you prefer your syrup without the bright green color, when making the syrup, you need to skip the steps that require grinding the leaves and extracting of the green juice.
Instead, simply knot the pandan leaves (or cut them into small 2-inch sizes) and add them to the water in the recipe. Boil the water with the pandan leaves. Once fully boiled, add the sugar and continue to cook until sugar is all dissolved. Strain the syrup and discard the leaves, and you have a pot of aromatic and fragrant, pandan infused simply syrup without the color green in it.
No, the syrup should not be stored at room temperature. Always keep it chilled.
If you are not able to get hold of fresh pandan leaves, you can also use the frozen ones for this recipe.
And if you are also not able to get the frozen ones, the best substitute would be to use store bought pandan extract or pandan essence. If you want to make colorless, pandan infused syrup, use the pandan essence (make sure it is colorless).
If you like the pandan simple syrup with is pretty emerald green color, use the pandan paste. Pandan paste is commercially produced, concentrated paste. It has both the color and fragrance of pandan leaves. You only need to add a tiny bit of the paste to your syrup to flavor and color it.
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📖Recipe
Pandan Syrup (How to Make)
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Instructions
- Wash and pat the pandan leaves dry.
- Snip them into 1-inch length. Add into a food processor.
- Add water and process the leaves until fine.
- Strain the pandan juice into a measuring jug with a cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer.
- Squeeze the juice out of the pandan leaves and discard the pulp.
- Measure the juice. If it is lesser than 200ml, add water until it reaches 200ml.
- In a medium sized pot, add the sugar.
- Pour in the pandan juice and stir.
- Cook the pandan juice and sugar over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and let the syrup cool down before pouring into a bottle (with lid) for storing. The syrup can also be used immediately.
Notes
- When cooking the syrup, only cook it until the sugar is dissolved. You need to wait for the syrup to boil. This will result in the syrup thickening too much, unless you prefer it with a thicker consistency.
- The syrup will thicken further as it cools down, so that this into account when deciding the level of thickness of the syrup.
- If you prefer your syrup without the bright green color, when making the syrup, you need to skip the steps that require grinding the leaves and extracting of the green juice. Instead, simply knot the pandan leaves (or cut them into small 2-inch sizes) and add them to the water in the recipe. Boil the water with the pandan leaves. Once fully boiled, add the sugar and continue to cook until sugar is all dissolved. Strain the syrup and discard the leaves, and you have a pot of aromatic and fragrant, pandan infused simply syrup without the color green in it.
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