I know this is a bit controversial, I’ve done a tiny bit of research on it. But honestly, until last night, I didn’t realize people used anything but 1:1.
From what I’ve read, most older recipes are 2:1? And most modern recipes are 1:1? What do you use?
Edit: thanks all!
As others have said, it depends.
My standard is 1:1 (by weight or volume, sugar and water weigh the same by volume at household scale - there’s like a 10mg difference, which is well within error range).
I’ll use a 2:1 when I need to not dilute something too much but need additional sweetness.
I’ve only ever used 1:1 for simple syrups with sugar.
I do 1:1 by volume most of the time. That I can save in the fridge, and people here use it for iced coffee too. Any other variation (rich, vanilla, etc) I label to specify. If no label it’s the 1:1 simple.
It’s possible our sugar is sweeter now than in the past too - I know that sounds strange but plants get bred for more sweetness and processing changes.
I use 2:1 when I bother to heat it in a pot, but recently I’ve taken to just filling sugar and boiling water into the intended container and shaking it every couple of minutes, and that method leads to somewhat more watery syrup. Still more sugar than water, though.
If a recipe needs more dilution, you can always add water while mixing the cocktail. I do that pretty often.
Weight or volume though?
A cup of sugar and a cup of water both weigh 10oz. So at non-industrial scale they weigh the same (there’s about a 10mg difference).
Usually 1:1 but I like a rich 2:1 syrup for things like an old fashioned or a sour sans egg white. Rich syrup is also great if you’re batching.
I start with 1:1 if it doesn’t specify, and 2:1 if it says “rich”. Often I end up adjusting up from a 1:1 to a 1.5:1 semi-rich.
