What is the best way to make syrup? also any tips on equipment would be appreciated.

Do you add the concentrate, sugar and water to a pot and boil?
or
do you mix it in a gallon jug using hot water and add the sugar and concentrate?
or
Do you make the simple syrup and add the concentrate later as you need it?

There was a big discussion about this on the title topic: "My syrups are water thin?"

It really all depends how much syrups are you planning to use? I do not boil my syrups....not even hot water. I do not keep simple syrup and add concentrate as I need it.

This was my answer in that topic:

Here is my math....check if you used the same method: (This is what I currently use)

I use quart bottles too.

There are 4 quarts to a gallon.

1 gallon + 5 lbs of sugar = simple syrup

But since you are using quart bottles......you will use 2.5 cups of sugar per quart bottle. How did I get 2.5 cups? According to Google, 1lb of sugar = 2 cups...therefore 5 lbs = 10 cups....divide by 4 (quarts) equals 2.5 cups.

Use a funnel to pour your 2.5 cups of sugar into the quart bottle. Pour water about 2/3 full. Seal with cap and shake till water is clear (this may take several minutes).

4 oz of concentrate makes a gallon. So only 1 oz of concentrate is needed for your quart bottles.
Pour 1 oz into the mixture and add more water to fill the bottle (do not top off...leave 2 to 3 inches from top for the pouring tips). Shake some more.

That's it!....I don't add any preservatives cuz I use them up quickly and I just make back ups if needed. I like them fresh!

Hope this helps

This works well for us: Bring 4 gallons of water to a boil and add 25 lbs. of sugar. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Cool. The resulting simple syrup should be a light amber color. Add 1 oz. of citric acid and 5 oz.'s of benzoate of soda as preservatives (add seperately and stir or they will clump up).

Some days we go through 4 or 5 gallons of syrup. IMHO it would be a chore to measure and shake 16-20 individual quarts.

We never boil our water we simply use a 10 gallon mix pail add 4 gallans of water and 30 lbs of sugar then add 4 oz benzonite and 2 oz acid. I am not sure why you would boil the water as I find that as long as u r stirring while adding the sugar it dissolves quite easily.

The reason I was having to boil was that I was comparing some powdered concentrates to the hawaiian snow liquid concentrates. The preservative that was in the powdered mix wouldn't dissolve without being hot. I decided to go with the liquid concentrates from Hawaiian snow. Also if you use a "bettix bottles" for storing the concentrates it makes measuring alot easier.

@ dfl138, Why boil? Chemistry. Sugar is a disaccharide, a molecule made up of the 2 monosaccharides fructose and glucose. Boiling the syrup breaks down (hydrolizes) the sucrose into it's monosaccharide components. The resulting syrup is 1.3 times sweeter than the sucrose alone. This provides my customers with a much sweeter, smoother, and tastier product. Most of our regular customers say our flavors are better than the other shaved ice business in town, and they do not boil.