Blood Orange Simple Syrup

I love blood oranges. When I saw them available at Whole Foods this week I had to get them. Blood oranges are just so much more interesting than regular oranges, their flavor a bit sweeter, and the color just amazing. I always bring some into school for the kids, who get a kick out of the deep red flesh.

This recipe is easily increased/decreased.

1 1/2 cup of caster sugar

1 cup water

4-6 blood oranges (peeled and mashed or juiced)

The blood oranges I used to create this Instructable were leftover from the blood orange peels I used in another recipe (that will be posted soon). So I didn't have to do a whole lot of work to get them ready for becoming syrup.

You have two options; juice the oranges, in which case you can move to the next step

or

peel the oranges, getting as much of the pith (white stuff) off as you can, pulling apart the slices.

Mix the water and sugar together in a pan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved add your blood orange juice OR your blood orange slices and give them a little mash. Lower your heat and let the oranges and sugar water simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Once your mix is done simmering and has a syrupy consistency (if you're not sure, check to see if the mixture coats a spoon) remove it from the heat.

If you juiced your oranges you can skip this step and move on to the last.

If you didn't, you're going to need to strain the orange pulp and seeds from the syrup. I lined a strainer/colander with cheese cloth and then dumped the orange mix in and squeezed---messy, but effective :-)

Once strained and cooled, pour your syrup into your desired container/jar and keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.