No more wasted strawberry tops!
Strawberry season is in full swing, and so far we have made two trips to the strawberry patch and picked a total of five gallons of strawberries. With so many berries in the kitchen, the discarded strawberry tops are really starting to add up! Last year I ended up trashing my tops because I couldn’t find a good solution to use them before they went bad, so this year I knew I needed to come up with a fast game plan.
We’ve been making a lot of iced tea, and I liked the idea of a syrup that I could use to sweeten our tea and give it an extra punch of flavor. The result: this sweet strawberry syrup made from strawberry tops. Cook it with leaves and all, strain out the cooked fruit, and keep it in your fridge for a few weeks, or process it in a water bath canner to store long-term.
Ingredients:
On my first attempt, I used about 5 cups of strawberry tops, cut from a little over a gallon of berries. The yield was 4 cups of syrup, just enough to perfectly fill two pint-size mason jars. Don’t have a gallon of strawberries on hand? No problem! I’ve made this recipe scaleable, starting with one cup of strawberry tops. Obviously, the more tops you use, the bigger your yield will be. Edited, 5/16/2025: if you are using 3 cups of tops or less, you will need to reduce your cook time. Try boiling for 8 minutes, then simmering for 10 minutes, but keep an eye on the amount of liquid remaining in your pot. If it gets too thick, you can reconstitute your mixture by whisking in boiling water (start with 1/4 cup) and returning the mixture to a boil.
1 cup tops, ¾ cup water, ¾ cup sugar
2 cups tops, 1 ½ cups water, 1 ½ cups sugar
3 cups tops, 2 ¼ cups water, 2 ¼ cups sugar
4 cups tops, 3 cups water, 3 cups sugar
5 cups tops 3 ¾ cups water, 3 ¾ cups sugar
Note: for quantities over five cups, you will need a very large stock pot or the foam will overflow your pan! Five cups maxed out my __ qt pot.
SIDE NOTE:
If you want to save up enough strawberry tops to make a big batch of syrup, here are two options for you:
Keep a bag of tops in your freezer and add to it as you cut your berries. When you get ready to make your syrup, just toss the frozen strawberry tops right into the pan.
If you are working through a box or two of berries, store your cut tops in a quart-size mason jar (with lid on) in the refrigerator. Storing fruit in a closed jar in the fridge helps extend shelf life and will give you enough time to work through your berries at your own pace, then make your syrup once all of the berries have been cut and enjoyed.
How to make the strawberry top syrup:
Step 1: Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot. Seriously, go ahead and grab a big guy if you’re using more than 2 cups because the foam is going to get really big when boiling and you don't want sugary overflow on your stove top.
Step 2: Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, let it boil for around 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently. The mixture will get very foamy as it boils. This is totally normal, but a little intense if you’re worried your pot isn’t big enough.
Step 3: Turn the heat down to low and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
Step 4: When simmering time is up, use a mesh strainer to pour the liquid into a clean container. Make sure all of the strawberry pieces are out. They’ve given up all their flavor and are no longer any good to eat.
From here, you have two options:
You can pour your syrup into a glass bottle or jar and store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. It can also be frozen (in an appropriate container) for up to 3 months
Grab some half-pint or pint-sized canning jars and can these babies! Leave 1/4” headspace and process for 10 minutes at full boil.
Don’t know much about water bath canning? You’re in luck! I’m working on my first online course: Preserving School: Water Bath Canning. This free course will walk you through all of the canning basics and give you the tools you need to start preserving things like Strawberry Top Syrup with confidence! Sign up now to get on the waitlist and I’ll send the course straight to your inbox when it is ready!
Now that you have your syrup, what do you do with it?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
pour it over your pancakes
add it to your sweet tea for a little extra flavor
make Strawberry Cream Sodas
use it as a Simple Syrup substitute in any recipe
