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Syrups are an old and favored form of administering herbal medication to be taken internally. This popularity is due to a variety of reasons. Aesthetically, syrups’ sweet flavors are highly palatable and they offer a pleasing appearance; concurrently, syrup has a nutrient value as a carbohydrate (in spite of popular opinion, sugar is not a nutritional problem, whereas manic consumption of sugar is a problem), and the sugar used in making syrups can be an eminently effective preservative in place of alcohol or refrigeration for otherwise unstable herbal solutions.

When using sugar as the preservative, the adequate concentration of white sugar (sucrose) in a syrup is a crucially important factor in its keeping quality. (Sucrose is the official chemical name used for common white sugar in pharmacy texts.)

Sugar is a carbohydrate. When present in a water solution, diluted sugar provides a nutrient source which vigorously supports the growth of micro-organisms, especially yeast and molds. However, the ability of these organisms to grow is decreased as the concentration of sucrose is increased. Therefore, a simple sugar syrup needs to approach saturation in order to succeed as an effective preservative agent. One does not want to attain true saturation, however, because any slight cooling might start a crystallization process within the syrup body which can lead to complications. Large crystals form, which are difficult to re-dissolve, and the formation of these crystals leaves behind a solution with insufficient sugar concentration, that will support microorganism growth. The concentration of sugar in a syrup must be sufficient to render the solution so saturated with pure sugar (sucrose) that there is no longer enough water available to provide the environment required for microorganisms to proliferate. This is similar to drying herbs for preservation so that not enough water is available in the dried vegetable materials to provide a proper environment for bacteria and mold to proliferate and cause deterioration.

The use of sugar as a preservative for making permanent herbal preparations was quite popular and certainly practical in times when refrigeration was not a common household luxury. One winter, while I was immersed in writing this chapter, Sonoma County, California, hosted an uncompromising windstorm that felled nearby trees, demolishing numerous power lines. This supplied me with two electricity-free (void) days to deepen my appreciation for non-electric light and heat-giving devices not dependent on electric power. As my refrigerator and freezer slowly lost their cool, my appreciation deepened as well for stored food products that don’t rely on electrical power for their preservation. Experiencing (yet again) the obvious vulnerability of my dependence on electrical power, my extemporaneously expanding appreciation soon embraced all the methods I was aware of that preserve herbal extracts that do not rely on electricity-fed devices, or on the over-taxed liquids supplied by the alcohol industry. Therefore, I have decided to discuss here not only the making of syrups that are best kept in the refrigerator but also a method for making a syrup that, in line with “the technology of independence,” when prepared properly, can survive entirely off the grid.

Syrups are defined as saturated solutions of sugar in pure water or in other aqueous liquids; sugar is the preservative component. Syrups sometimes contain vinegar, honey, glycerin, and occasionally a small quantity of alcohol. In pharmacy, when distilled water alone is used in the nearly saturated solution with sugar, the distinctive term simple syrup is applied. When the solution contains various aromatic or pleasantly tasting substances it is called a flavored syrup, and when the sugar solution contains soluble principles from various medicinal plants used as therapeutic agents it is called a medicated syrup. Medicinally, syrups can be divided into two general groups. The flavoring group composed of those syrups prepared solely for their agreeable