Mix up this lovely purplish-red syrup with seltzer for a delicious early fall refreshment. For a more grown up treat, it's delicious in a gin and tonic or topped up with your favourite sparkling wine.
In a medium saucepan set over high heat, combine plums, water and coconut palm sugar.
Using a sharp knife, split vanilla bean in half lengthways and scrape out seeds. Add bean and seeds to the syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the plums are soft enough to mash. Remove from heat.
Remove the vanilla pod from the syrup, and set aside. Using a masher, smash the plums into a rough puree. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the plum pieces against the strainer to extract as much goodness as possible.
Transfer the syrup to a covered container, and add the vanilla bean back to the syrup for maximum flavour. Syrup will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
PS - Don't throw out that plum puree! It's delicious spooned onto yogurt or ice cream!
To make Plum-Vanilla Soda:
Stir 2 tablespoons syrup (or more, depending on your taste) into 1 cup seltzer or soda water.
Notes
The sweetener in this recipe, coconut palm sugar, has a lower glycemic index than brown sugar, and adds a similar dark caramel flavour to the finished syrup. Look for it in Asian grocery stores, or in health food stores.
Recipe by Crumb: A Food Blog at https://www.crumbblog.com/?p=4113