Lemon balm syrup is a fragrant and refreshing herbal infusion you can make at home with just a few ingredients.
In this post you'll learn how to prepare and store it plus creative ways to use it in drinks, desserts, and more.
TL;DR
My mother has been making this infused lemon balm syrup, which she sells at the local farmer's market. It's a refreshing way to beat the heat in the summer months.
While we like to prepare other seasonal syrups such as the red currant syrup or the elderflower syrup, we tend to prepare this lemon balm syrup from spring to autumn.
We have plenty of lemon balm growing almost wild in the garden, and honestly this herb is so very underused.
This particular recipe consists of fresh lemon balm leaves and citrus fruits. Fragrant oranges and lemons make this syrup extra special and a real treat to have when the temperatures are soaring.
Just mix some syrup into some tap water, and you have a wonderful summer drink.
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon Balm Leaves — Freshly picked lemon balm leaves. Only use fresh leaves and not dried or frozen for the best result.
- Water
- Oranges — Get unwaxed, untreated, or organic (no pesticides) oranges because the full fruit is used with the skin. Navel oranges are most suited.
- Lemon — Unwaxed, untreated, or organic (no pesticides) lemons.
- Sugar — Plain granulated sugar. The sugar helps in preserving the syrup. Do not reduce the sugar quantity as this will reduce the shelf-life drastivally in this syrup recipe.
- Citric Acid — Food grade citric acid helps preserve the syrup further.
If you can't get clean oranges or lemons (unwaxed, pesticide-free), place the oranges and lemons into lukewarm water with a dash of vinegar and scrub them with a brush.
Tip: You will also need a dash of vinegar to wash the leaves in clear fresh water. The vinegar removes small insects and impurities. A dash is more than enough! I like to use the cheapest bottled cooking vinegar.
Process Overview
Step 1
Pick fresh lemon balm leaves, weigh them, and rinse them in fresh water with a dash of vinegar to get rid of insects and impurities.
Step 2
Place the leaves into a large cooking pot with the water.
Wash the lemons and oranges, cut off the ends, and cut the whole fruits into larger chunks.
Step 3
Add the fruit chunks with the sugar and citric acid to the lemon balm leaves and stir well.
Cover and leave to infuse for 3 days, stirring briefly every day once.
Step 4
At last, squeeze out the leaves and fruit pieces to collect the infused lemon balm syrup, and take them all out and discard them.
Strain the syrup with a fine-mesh strainer.
Step 3
Take the strained syrup back to the pot and briefly heat it for 5-10 minutes on a lower heat setting, but do not boil!
Pour syrup into clean sterilized bottles with a funnel. Close and store or use your syrup as needed.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Balm Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 Ounces Lemon Balm Leaves Fresh
- 9 Cups Water
- 3 Pieces Organic Unwaxed Lemons
- 2 Pieces Organic Unwaxed Oranges naval oranges
- 15 Cups Sugar
- ¼ Cup Citric Acid
Instructions
- Get the freshest lemon balm leaves possible. We harvest them fresh from the plant. You can cut off tender stems with a set of leaves to save you time.7 Ounces Lemon Balm Leaves Fresh
- Weigh the leaves.
- Place the lemon balm leaves into fresh water with a dash of vinegar to wash them. The vinegar removes small insects and impurities. Keep them for 5 minutes or so in the vinegar water before taking them out and rinsing them in fresh water.9 Cups Water
- Place the clean lemon balm leaves into a large pan and pour the full water quantity into that.
- Wash your lemons and oranges well. Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the fruits into larger chunks. We cut the lemons into quarters.2 Pieces Organic Unwaxed Oranges, 3 Pieces Organic Unwaxed Lemons
- Add the lemon and orange chunks to the lemon balm and water, with the sugar and the citric acid. I recommend adding the sugar in stages and stirring it all in, one by one.15 Cups Sugar, ¼ Cup Citric Acid
- Mix the content of your pan well until the sugar looks somewhat dissolved.
- Cover the pan and leave it in a place where it's not in the way for 3 days to infuse. Stir once a day to mix it all up and cover each time again.
- When it's done infusing, take and squeeze out the lemon balm and fruit pieces. Discard them. You should be left with a syrup.
- Take the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve. You may have to strain it twice. The syrup should be as clear as possible.
- Pour the syrup back into the clean pan from earlier and heat it all up for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not boil the syrup, just heat it up. Control the heat on a medium to low-heat setting.
- Take the syrup from the heat when done and leave to cool completely.
- Keep your clean sterilized bottles ready (I wash them in the dishwasher on a high setting). Place a funnel into the bottle opening and pour the lemon balm syrup with the help of a ladle into the bottles. Fill each bottle up to the top. Clean up your mess with a wet clean kitchen towel/Wettex and close the bottle.
- Store the bottle in a clean, dry, cool environment, away from direct sunlight. Shelves are better than basement floors. You can use the syrup as required and keep it in the fridge once you unseal the bottle and use it up soon. Unopened lemon balm syrup bottles are good for 10-12 months.
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale to weigh the leaves
- 3.5" Paring Knife to cut the fruits
- Fine-Mesh Strainer to strain the syrup
- Large Funnel to pour the syrup into th bottles
- 16 oz or 500 ml Glass Bottles with a Cap we use bottles with a swing top caps as they are airtight
Serving
I routinely just have this syrup with fresh water as a drink or to mix with gin and tonic and other cocktail drinks, but the syrup has so many more uses.
Here are some ideas that you can pick up:
- As a pancake, crêpe, waffle, or cake syrup.
- With your ice cream or fruit salad.
- To mix into hot tea as a flavor giver.
- In salad dressings for a whole new flavor profile.
Storing
Store the filled-up clean bottles in a dry cool environment, away from direct sunlight. Keep them on a shelf so that you can see them.
Don't keep them on the floor of your basement, because the temperature can change the quality of your syrup.
The syrup is good for at least 10 to 12 months unopened if you used clean sterilized bottles that have quality lids.
Keep open bottles in the fridge and use them up gradually.
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