1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Syrup

SYRUP (O. Fr. ysserop, mod. sirop, Span. xarope, for axarope, Arab. al, the, and sharab, drink; cf. “Sherbet” and “Shrub”), the name given to a thick, viscid liquid, containing much dissolved (generally crystalline) matter, but showing little tendency to deposit crystals. The “syrup” employed for medicinal purposes consists of a concentrated or saturated solution of refined sugar in distilled water. The simple “syrup” of the British Pharmacopoeia is prepared by adding 1000 grams (or 5 ℔) of refined sugar to 500 cubic centimetres (or two pints) of boiling distilled water, heating until it is dissolved and subsequently adding boiling distilled water until the weight of the whole is 1500 grams (or 7½ ℔). The specific gravity of the syrup should be 1.33. Flavoured syrups are made by adding flavouring matter to a simple syrup. For instance, syrupus aromaticus is prepared by adding certain quantities of orange and cinnamon water to simple syrup. Similarly, medicated syrups are prepared by adding medicaments to, or dissolving them in, the simple syrup. Golden syrup is the uncrystallizable fluid drained off in the process of obtaining refined crystallized sugar. Treacle and molasses are syrups obtained in the earlier stages of refining. Technically and scientifically the term syrup is also employed to denote viscid, generally residual, liquids, containing substances other than sugar in solution.