Simple markups

I was in the beverage aisle in the market the other day, and was horrified to see, next to the bitters and mixes, a 12 oz. bottle of simple syrup priced at $5.00. This has to be one of the largest mark-ups of all time, not counting bottled water. Consider this -- a 5 lb. bag of store-brand sugar is $2.50. That will make about 88 ounces of simple syrup. As the name inmplies, simple syrup is ridiculously easy to make. It's half sugar, half water. As a public service, here's my recipe.

1. Find a measuring thingee. It can be a dry-measuring cup (the one-cup size works well), a liquid measuring cup, or even a juice glass.

2. Fill the measuring thingee with sugar and then put that sugar in a small saucepan.

3. Fill the thingee with water and add that to the saucepan. Give it a quick stir. There will be a lot of undissolved sugar. Don't worry about it.

4. Put the pan on the range and turn on the heat.

5. Stir once in a while. Bring the liquid to a boil.

6. It's done. Take it off the heat and let it cool. Keep it in the fridge. Use it for tasty beverages.

If you lack a range and a saucepan, you can put the sugar and water into a Pyrex measuring cup and nuke it (assuming you have a Pyrex cup). $5.00 for 12 ounces. Sheesh.