You might be surprised to learn that those funky little twisty beans on the mesquite trees in your McAllen backyard can be used to make tasty syrup — and the truth is these pods can just about do it all. From flour to jellies, even to syrup, these beans can be ground up, soaked, or baked to make delicious, gluten-free treats of all kinds — some people even chew on them straight from the tree!
Today, Cappadona Ranch will reveal the secret to mesquite bean syrup, as well as how to make some for yourself!
Mesquite Bean…Syrup?
Sure, it makes sense that dried bean pods could be ground into flour, but syrup might sound like a stretch. However, it’s not as strange as you might think to make syrup out of part of a tree. In fact, maple syrup is made by concentrating the sap of a maple tree, and hickory syrup is made by soaking and cooking hickory bark.
While many mesquite bean foods are made by the grinding up of the pods, mesquite bean syrup actually uses the whole pod itself. The pods are soaked and cooked, releasing their natural sugar into the water to make a syrup that’s perfect for health-conscious sweet tooths. Careful though — cook your syrup at too high a temperature and you might end up with mesquite bean beer!
How to Make Your Own
Making mesquite bean syrup is surprisingly simple. Like most syrups, this recipe involves heating your sugar source to extract its sweetness. In this case, the natural sugars that give mesquite bean foods their characteristic taste will be concentrated into sticky goodness.
What You’ll Need
- 1 pound of mesquite bean pods
- 1 gallon of water
- An oven or slow cooker
- Paper towels or a cheesecloth
- 1 gallon heavy-duty ziploc bag
The Time It’ll Take
- 1 hour prep
- 24 hours cooking
Making Your Syrup
- First, make sure that the beans that you gather are totally dry. In Texas weather, this shouldn’t be too difficult. You might find little holes in the pods from bruchid beetle larvae, but the likelihood of finding many larvae still in the pods is low, and a few won’t hurt the syrup.
- Next, you’ll want to smash the pods into pieces. One effective method is putting all of your pods into a heavy-duty ziploc bag and smashing them with a mallet, rolling pin...you name it. The seeds will take a beating and never break, but that’s alright.
- The next step is definitely the trickiest. You will need to cook the broken-up pods in one gallon of water, but you will need to make sure the cooking temperature stays low, below a simmer. You can do this in an oven set to a low temp, but a slow cooker set well below a simmer is the best method.
- Leave your syrup mix to cook for 20 to 24 hours.
- Strain the pods and particles out of the syrup with either a cheesecloth or paper towel.
- Enjoy!
For all of your mesquite treat needs, call Cappadona Ranch! Find a new favorite or pick the perfect gift for your most health-conscious friends on our online shop, or give us a call at (956) 867-1819.