Contributor post written by Renee from Raising Generation Nourished
I remember that bright yellow and pink bottle being brought out just a few select times in my childhood. We drank a lot of milk, but very rarely got to “flavor” it with strawberry syrup. I remember the syrup experience being super exciting and really loving it.
Of course now I know better. That pink bottle filled with red 40 dyes, high fructose corn syrup, and other toxic additives is anything but an innocent treat. Not a strawberry to be seen on that ingredient label, but real strawberry milk syrup is quite easily replicated. Go figure…strawberries and a little honey!
I originally wanted to take a bit of a shortcut to create a strawberry syrup recipe and just put milk, strawberries, and honey in my blender and let it go. While it was tasty, and my girls were all over it (they have never had flavored milk before – other than a smoothie), I know there will be some children not too keen on the seeds left behind. I think a high powdered blender would take care of them, but I was curious how taking the extra step of making a smooth strawberry syrup (similar to the bottled syrup sold in the store, but with real ingredients) would make a difference.
It was a big difference. Just 15 minutes in a saucepan transforms the strawberries and honey into that super sweet strawberry flavor that easily beats out that yellow and pink bottle in a taste test (although I don’t recommend a taste test with the latter).
We still won’t see fresh strawberries where I live until about June. We will U-Pick a major haul in the summer to stash away in the freezer, so we were able to enjoy this syrup with summer-sweet strawberries. If you purchase store-bought out of season strawberries, you may need to bump up the honey for additional sweetness. The strawberries I purchased to take the photos in this post looked pretty, but the flavor sure wasn’t what we are used to picking in June!
This was such a fun treat, and I think it would be great for not only Valentine’s Day, but to serve in small glasses with fun straws at a birthday party with real strawberry cake and real strawberry ice cream! The strawberry syrup can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge – let the kids stir up their own strawberry milk upon serving!
DIY Strawberry Syrup For Strawberry Milk (Dye and Refined Sugar Free!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberries frozen or fresh
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup honey add more if you want a sweeter syrup
Instructions
- Put everything in a small sauce pan and bring the ingredients to a simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally squishing the strawberries along the way.
- Strain the syrup. Be sure to squish the strawberries with the back of your spoon to get all the juice out. (Save the left behind strawberries to put in your morning smoothie, or top on vanilla ice cream.)
- Use 3-4 tablespoons of syrup per 1 cup of milk (raw/grass-fed is preferable or whole coconut milk if you are dairy free).
Notes
Nutrition
Great recipe… currently pregnant and craving strawberry milk but didn’t want to buy artificial syrups. I ended up using an immersion blender at the end instead of straining and really don’t mind the outcome! Thanks for sharing.
So glad you like it, Haley!
Does it still work even if you dont have a strainer on hand?
Hey Addyson, Yes, you’ll just end up with some berry clumps.
Is it possible to can this for a longer shelf life?
Hey Phyllis, I don’t believe so.
This recipe looks great! I can’t wait to make it. Question – is there anything I could add to make the syrup last just a little bit longer? Lemon juice maybe?
Thanks, Amanda! You could try adding some lemon juice. I’m not sure how long it will extend it’s life.
The syrup taste delicious. Thank you for sharing your receipe. I made it for a baby shower, can’t wait for my guests to try it.
This is so awesome! We’re going strawberry picking tomorrow and I plan to make this ASAP. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Awesome, Erlene! Have fun and enjoy the syrup!
I have for years believed in organic foods and the concern about GMO that started before we were born. Stay with it and make sure it is Heriloom seeds you grow so next year from your crop you can grow more. Keep in touch and thank you.
Thanks, Stacy.
Thank you for the strawberry syrup recipe, my son uses Hershey Strawberry Syrup in his milk all the time. I’m looking forward to not using that anymore.
You’re very welcome, Sherrie. Enjoy!!
I just adore your blog! But I’m dying to know where you obtain all of your containers from. I’m in love with all of them!
Thank you, Roci! Many of the containers pictured come from Target (the $1 section is amazing!!), HomeGoods, and Amazon (Weck Jars). 🙂
This is just great Renee! My daughter LOVES strawberry anything. I don’t know if i’ll be able to wait until strawberry season to make this! Pinning.. 🙂
I couldn’t wait either, Krystal! We made this syrup last weekend and the kids (both big and small :)) were in love!!!