Making my own syrup for my Sodastream - GInger Ale with a Kick

So in my effort to eat healthier I have opted to "make my own" quite often. If you control the ingredients you can tailor make anything you desire. I bought a soda stream to get a healthier choice in soda (I have maybe 1 cup a day. I used to drink it from the time I got up, until I went to bed). I love the machine and got a great deal using a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Mine came with 2 1 liter bottles, a sampler pack of some of the flavors, some unsweetened flavors (orange, etc) to add to water, the C02 and the machine. Regular price was $99ish. Well after trying several flavors I realized I didn't care for the Sodastream syrups. They are made with splenda and tend to have a diety flavor that I was not fond of.

Thus starting my search for recipes to make a good homemade soda syrup. I found this blog called Former Chef and she had posted this recipe for a homemade ginger ale.

Ginger Syrup for Ginger Ale

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup palm sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 cups water
4 oz peeled and sliced ginger (I started with 6-7 oz whole fresh ginger)
2 tsp cardamom pods
1 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp peppercorns
3 ea. star anise pods

 In a small pot, combine the sugars with the water and add the peeled and sliced ginger. I used the palm sugar (in the photo at the top)  because I had it, but you can also use 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white .
Toast the whole spices in a saute pan until they just begin to brown and become fragrant. Add them to the sugar and water mixture and bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Allow to steep until cool. At this point you can strain it into a clean container and store it in the refrigerator. Chill.

For me, 2 Tbsp of syrup with 12 oz soda water and some ice makes a very refreshing glass of ginger ale. 

Now here are the changes I made... Instead of 1 cup of white sugar I used a cup of sugar in the raw. Instead of Palm Sugar I just doubled the brown sugar. I also added a pinch of cayenne pepper (ground) because my house loves the spice. I have it cooling on the stove as I type. I have not tried it as a soda but the syrup is delicious. This recipe also helped me understand the basics behind a sweet syrup so now I can try any flavor I imagine (and I have quite the imagination). I am excited to see what flavors I can create, and will post some of the better ones here.

I also discovered that the blog Former Chef has a lot of delicious looking recipes in general. She seems to use "real ingredients". I am also looking forward to her Roasted Tomatillo Salsa recipe in a couple weeks when I have more tomatillo's then I know what to do with. lol This is a blog that I will be checking out regularly!