Homemade golden syrup

Living in a country where you can't buy everything you were used to can be a challenge. Sometimes you just make do without, whereas other times you might be able to make your own homemade alternatives. Sometimes the alternatives you make at home aren't exact duplicates of the ones you were used to, but that's a matter of adjustment. 

The syrup we used for pancakes in the Netherlands can't be easily duplicated, but golden syrup seems to be a decent replacement. It's easy to make and shelf stable for a long period, not to mention it's cheap to make! 

For one jar, you'll need: 

1 1/4 cups of water, plus 3 tablespoons

3 cups of sugar

One slice of lemon 

In a saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups of water to a boil.* Then in the meantime, in another saucepan (preferably with a thick bottom) mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 3 tablespoons of water. Let it simmer until it starts to brown. Then slowly and carefully, add the boiling water, and the remaining sugar. Also add the lemon. Let it simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes. Then let it cool down completely. 

It may be too thick when cooled down, in that case just reheat it and add some more water. I like to add a few tablespoons very strong brewed black tea to give it a nice brown colour. To pour it in a jar, it's advisable to reheat it a bit anyway, in order to be able to pour it more easily. 

If the syrup isn't too thick (some people prefer it thicker whereas some like it runnier), but you still want that brownish colour, you can also add a teabag for a few seconds after reheating. Or add one spoon of brown sugar. Since we don't have brown sugar here, I just use the tea method. (We don't use tea bags though- which is probably worth a seperate post...)

Oh, and this is essential: don't skip the lemon, as it keeps the syrup from crystalizing! 

*You can use your electric water kettle too. I don't really use it, which is why I just heat up water on the stove.