[1] Ronald Reagan was fond of chocolate mousse (photo © Nescafe).

[2] Lyndon Johnson enjoyed a breakfast of creamed chipped beef on toast. Here’s a recipe (photo © Recipe Tips).

[3] Richard Nixon was happy with meatloaf for dinner (photo © The Popcorn Board).

[4] Give Gerry Ford a bacon cheeseburger (photo © Smokey Bones).

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[1] While you can purchase simple syrup in a variety of flavors, you can also make it at home just by mixing sugar and water (photo © Liquor.com).

[2] If you don’t want to buy it, it’s simple to make simple syrup (photo © Zulka Sugar).

[3] Simple syrup can be infused with just about any flavor. Here, a vanilla bean is added to the bottle (photos #2 and #3 © Sonoma Syrup Co.).

[4] Add a hint of ginger, lavender, or your favorite fruit flavor to a cocktail. Here, Ginger Infused Simple Syrup from Sonoma Syrup Co.

[5] Tired of stirring and stirring your iced tea or iced coffee until the sugar dissolves? Simple syrup dissolves in a flash. That’s why it’s used for cold drinks by mixologists (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

Granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold beverages. Simple syrup (also called bar syrup, sugar syrup or gomme, the French word for gum) makes it easy to add sweetness to drinks—cocktails, iced tea or iced coffee.

Some people use superfine sugar (check out this nifty flip-top package). Others buy a bottle of premade simple syrup. (There’s also a sugar-free version.)

Or, you can easily make simple syrup—and keep it on hand.

You can also flavor simple syrup with anything from chile and cinnamon to lavender and mint (there’s a Ginger Simple Syrup recipe below that you can use as a template for other flavors).

Simple syrup is made on the stove top, stirring sugar and hot water until they combine into a syrup. But you can try the “shaking” technique below: no stove necessary.

Both techniques follow “Uses For Simple Syrup.” But first:
 
> The different types of sugars and syrups.

> A brief history of sugar.
 
 
USES FOR SIMPLE SYRUP

 
Simple syrup is easy to make and can be customized in many ways. The 1:1 ratio of sugar to water prevents bacteria growth and allows the syrup to store at room temperature for months
 
 
RECIPE #1: SIMPLE SYRUP, CLASSIC TECHNIQUE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING the water to a boil. Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water, stirring constantly until dissolved completely. (Do not allow the syrup to boil for too long or it will be too thick.)

2. REMOVE the pan from the heat. Allow to cool completely and thicken.

3. ADD optional flavor. For vanilla simple syrup, add 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract to cooled sugar syrup. If you want to infuse fresh herbs (basil, mint, rosemary), simmer them in the hot water for 20 minutes and remove before mixing the water with the sugar.

4. STORE in an airtight container in the fridge or the pantry.
 
 
RECIPE #2: INFUSED SIMPLE SYRUP WITH YOUR FLAVOR OF CHOICE

This recipe employs the old-school, cook-it-on-the-stove approach to making simple syrup. Enjoy it in a cocktail or in hot or iced tea.

Instead of the ginger specified here, you can infuse herbs like lavender and mint; fruits like berries, citrus and pomegranate; and holiday spices like pumpkin pie spice blends and vanilla bean.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE ginger, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2. REMOVE the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. Strain the syrup and refrigerate in an airtight container.

Boozy Variation: For “adult iced tea” or other cold drinks, add 1.5 ounces bourbon or whiskey.

Variation: Shaken Technique. This technique makes plain simple syrup, but not flavored syrups, which require simmering the flavor item in hot water.

1. FILL. Using the proportion of 2 parts sugar to three parts water, fill a bottle almost halfway with sugar; add hot water.

2. SHAKE. Cover the top and shake well. Store in a cool, dry place or in the fridge.
 
 
WHY DO THE PROPORTIONS VARY?

Some bartenders use a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water for a thicker syrup. Others prefer a thinner syrup.

Play around with the proportions until you hit on what’s right for you.

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Some of us remember life before Presidents Day. Until 1971, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was a state holiday, celebrated in many states on the his birthday—Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in Kentucky in that iconic one-room cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. It was a bank, government and school holiday, not to mention a day of retail sales specials.

George Washington had a separate holiday on his birthday, February 22nd (he was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to a wealthy planter family).

In 1971, both presidential holidays were shifted to the third Monday in February and combined as Presidents Day, to allow federal employees a three-day weekend. The private sector followed. Adieu, Lincoln’s Birthday; and yours too, George Washington’s Birthday. You holidays are now part of a vague Presidents Day celebration.

> More favorite foods of the presidents.
 
 
DINING WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON

The planter and surveyor who would become the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Washington was known for keeping a bountiful table. He was fond of fine food and enjoyed fresh fish almost daily (often for breakfast with hoe cakes).

What did Washington drink with his meals?

Beer was a favorite drink of George Washington, as it was for many people living in 18th century America and Europe. Before municipal water supplies, the water supply was unreliable, with the water from lakes, rivers and wells carrying harmful pathogens. Even young children drank beer.

Washington was particularly fond of porter, a dark ale, but Madiera and wine were usually present at the table as well. Beer was brewed at Mount Vernon, and hops were grown there. In addition to grain-based beer, persimmon beer and pumpkin beer were brewed in season.

Washington’s notebooks include a recipe for small beer, which was a weak beer (lower alcohol content) consumed by servants and children. The full-alcohol beer was called strong beer.

WHAT ABOUT THE HARD STUFF?

In the era before cocktails*, punch was the way to combine spirits, sugar, lemon juice, spices and other ingredients.

Washington also enjoyed eggnog. His own recipe included brandy, rum and rye, the latter of which was made on the estate. A little-known fact about the Father Of Our Country: At the time of his death, he was the country’s largest producer of rye whiskey. The restored still at Mount Vernon continues to produce un-aged rye whiskey using Washington’s original recipe.
 
So the choice is yours: Toast to our first president with beer, eggnog, punch or a glass of rye.
 
Thanks to MountVernon.org for this information. You can read the full article here. And if you’re in the DC area, do plan a visit to this wonderful heritage site.

DINING WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Given the choice of a good meal with George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, opt for Washington.

Abraham Lincoln’s father, Thomas, was an illiterate farmer. Meals in the family’s one-room cabin comprised simple farm fare.

Thus, Lincoln was not bred to be a connoisseur of fine food like Washington. His colleagues on the law circuit noted his indifference to the boardinghouse fare. As president, focused on work, he hardly remembered to eat; often, his sustenance was a nibble of apples, nuts, cheese and crackers. Chicken fricassee with biscuits and oyster stew were favorites when he took the time to for a formal meal.

Lincoln’s favorite beverage was water. He didn’t drink alcohol and it was seldom served at the White House. He did enjoy coffee, perhaps for the energy as much as the flavor.

A glass of water is fine, but we’d rather have a crisp white wine with our fruit and cheese.

He also enjoyed oysters.

 
____________

*Cocktails as we know them date back to the early 1800s. Here’s a brief history of cocktails and some retro cocktails.