# How much syrup does a given amount of water and sugar produce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520 "2013-04-23T18:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/21 "2013-04-24T18:39:16Z")
Just use a liter of water, and 2 kg of sugar. Make your simple syrup, use 612.5ml for your liqueur, and save the rest for making mojitos, or daiquiris, or something. I guess what I’m trying to say is: why do you feel the need for such precision? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/22 "2013-04-24T18:48:10Z")
I made simple syrup yesterday, and I can confirm that 1c water + 2c sugar made just about 2c of syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/23 "2013-04-24T18:50:29Z")
Well, I tend to find if I make things in bulk for something specific, I tend not to end up using them anyway. Plus it would take ages for that much syrup to cool and spread the process of preparing the liqueur over an entire day (not to mention get me moaned at for leaving a large pan full of syrup out). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/24 "2013-04-24T20:10:44Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Yes, intuitively I would expect 2 cups of water plus 1 cup of sugar to yield only a little more than 1 cup of syrup. I meant “a little more than 2 cups of syrup” there, of course. You’re not going to get less syrup than water! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/25 "2013-04-24T20:23:17Z")
> [@Bisected8](#): > > Well, I tend to find if I make things in bulk for something specific, I tend not to end up using them anyway. > > Plus it would take ages for that much syrup to cool and spread the process of preparing the liqueur over an entire day (not to mention get me moaned at for leaving a large pan full of syrup out). Still not quite understanding. Are you working in a restaurant, and the chef wants you to make some house-made liqueur? ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/26 "2013-04-25T18:02:24Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Still not quite understanding. Are you working in a restaurant, and the chef wants you to make some house-made liqueur? No, I’m making liqueur at home, since making my own’s cheaper than buying it (plus commercial hazelnut liqueurs don’t have much flavour, apparently). Excess syrup means wastage (since I know I won’t use it), thus defeating the object of the exercise. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/27 "2013-04-26T00:27:02Z")
Well, your ability to perform calculations from known values seems up to snuff. Use a half liter of water and a kilo of sugar, then measure how much syrup it makes, and adjust the remaining ingredients to match that volume. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/28 "2013-04-28T00:07:31Z")
Wouldn’t it depend on how long the sugar/water mixture is heated? The process of turning ‘sugar water’ into ‘syrup’ involved heating, which evaporates (or boils off) some of the water. It seems that the more heat that is applied, the more water will be driven off, and the less syrup will be left at the end. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/29 "2013-04-28T01:57:08Z")
Couldn’t you just weigh out a 16 0z container of syrup and anything over 16 oz would be sugar. ---
**Author:** ![spankyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spankyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankyd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/30 "2014-08-09T16:23:18Z")
i’ve been having this same problem. i make up a cranberry liqueur w/ 40lbs of cranberries at a time, using a recipe i got from my dad for 1 lb. of cranberries. the original recipe calls for 1-1/2 c. of a heavy syrup made w/ 2c. sugar to 1c. water. i finally decided to figure out how many lbs. of sugar i needed, so i boiled 2 c. sugar (actually a 1/2 & 1/2 mix of splenda & raw sugar) in 1 c. water & voila! it equals 1-1/2 c. syrup; thus ea. cup of sugar = 3/4 c. of a syrup using a 2:1 sugar to water ratio. since there are 2-1/4 c. sugar per lb, it’s fairly simple to figure out how many lbs that equals & thus how many 5lb bags to buy…YAY! (for my 40lb batch of liqueur, i need 60 c. of heavy syrup, thus 80 c. of sugar/÷2.25=35.5lb). since i used a mix of splenda & raw sugar, i will double-check w/ the reg sugar…if there’s any difference, i’'l post the results. ---
**Author:** ![spankyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spankyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankyd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/31 "2014-08-09T16:31:48Z")
btw, the amount was the same before & after heating. i did it in my microwave, so there was probably little to no evaporation, but if u cover the pot when you boil the syrup, then the distillate should return to the syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/32 "2014-08-11T02:56:21Z")
Simple rule of thumb - the sugar crystals are half the density of solid sugar, due to all the air inside. They will take up half the volume, when in solution (no more air.) If you add a cup of sugar crystals to the syrup, the syrup volume will increase by 1/2 cup. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520/33 "2014-08-11T04:38:47Z")
That reminds me, hummingbird feeders are due for the weekly clean-and-refill. I make simple syrup a lot! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-syrup-does-a-given-amount-of-water-and-sugar-produce/656520.md?page=1)