I remember the delight of tasting the season’s first strawberries. Growing up, the Romanian strawberries in sugar syrup recipe was a regular in our household. Every Saturday, my mom would go to the market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for the upcoming week. Upon her return, as she’d place the bags on the kitchen counter, I’d stealthily peek inside to discover the week’s meal plans. By the end of spring, I’d discover bags with luscious, ripe strawberries. My mom would then clean them and mix them with sugar. In the 90s, the strawberry season was short, lasting just a month to 6 weeks, just before summer. These strawberries weren’t available all year, as they are today, which made them even more delectable. They had that unique sun-kissed sweetness, which was provided by the summer sun.

I knew that by the end of the season – it was when the strawberries my mom would buy from the farmers market started to become softer and softer.

It’s been a long time since I’ve last made this ‘strawberries in sugar syrup’ recipe. It’s not the same with supermarket bought strawberries, which are not ripe and have probably never seen the sun. However, this year my strawberry plants have given me an abundance of produce, so I knew exactly what I was going to do with: strawberries with sugar!

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Ingredients for the Strawberries in Sugar Syrup Recipe

A red bowl filled with fresh strawberries, on a white wooden garden table.

The only ingredients you need for this wonderful summer recipe are strawberries and caster sugar. It is a very simple recipe that you can complete in less than 10 minutes.

How to Make the Strawberries in Sugar

Strawberries cut in half and covered with sugar in a white bowl with pink polka dots

This recipe of strawberries with sugar is very easy to make. Whilst I prefer to cut the strawberries and arrange them nicely in the bowl, if you don’t have time, you can just mix them with the sugar as they are.

I first wash the strawberries and then pat them dry with paper kitchen towel. I don’t want any drop of water left on them. I then cut them in half or even smaller pieces, depending on how big the strawberries are. I feel that the fruits infuse better when they are cut.

I start by sprinkling a layer of sugar on the bottom of a bowl, then add a layer of cut strawberries. I sprinkle them with more sugar, then proceed on adding the second layer. I continue like this until I finish the strawberries. To complete the dish, I add an extra layer of sugar on top. Yes, there is a lot of sugar, but you’ll have to trust me, it’s worth it!

The final step is to cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for a minimum of three hours. I always leave it overnight, and enjoy the strawberries in sugar syrup the following day.

Notes and Tips:

I am not going to give you an exact quantity of sugar for this recipe. Use how much you desire. I used one teaspoon for each row of strawberries.
Use caster sugar. The brown sugar doesn’t melt the same.
You can serve the strawberries in sugar syrup as they are, or with whipped cream on top.
The strawberries in sugar syrup pair wonderfully with fresh mint as well.