Homemade Grenadine Recipe
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Authentic grenadine syrup is made from pomegranate juice sweetened with sugar and flavored with a few drops of lemon juice and orange-flower water (as opposed to corn syrup and red dye). Once you taste the real deal in, say, a Mary Pickford, you’ll never go back to the Shirley Temple cocktail mixer of your youth.
This recipe was featured as part of our DIY Home Bar project, as well as our DIY Holiday Gifts Advent Calendar.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup pomegranate juice, no sugar added
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 to 3 drops orange-flower water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat pomegranate juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the surface and a few bubbles have formed around the perimeter of the pan, about 5 minutes. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat.
- Add sugar and stir until it has dissolved and the liquid is no longer cloudy, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and orange-flower water and let the syrup cool to room temperature, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a container with a tightfitting lid and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
Yep still good after a month or maybe two months.
No citrus is needed, and no heat. Just mix the juice and the sugar, shake it up a few times, and put in a splash of orange flower water. Done. Perfect, bright, colorful, and incredibly good in a Jack Rose or a Planter's Punch.
Thank you, just thank you so much for this.
This was awesome. I used Stevia because I had no sugar and it still turned out awesome.
Hibiscus flowers have a characteristic flavor all their own (one that those who drink rose hip tea contaminated with hibiscus to darken the color are familiar with) that detracts from the flavor of grenadine. For that matter, it detracts from the flavor of rose hip tea, too. If you're a purist like I am, use freshly squeezed lime juice instead of lemon (lemon, too, has a distinct flavor than changes the taste of grenadine), skip the hibiscus, go easy on the orange-flower water, and add a teensy drop of almond extract to each quart of grenadine you make. You can even re-use your Rose's bottles while getting a better product.
I've made grenadine before, but not with lemon juice or orange-flower water--it sounds great, and I'll try those next time, along with the hibiscus flowers.
It is indeed that easy, and it's delicious. If you want a brighter red color when mixing (real grenadine disappears into whatever you're making), add a handful of hibiscus flowers to the water before you heat it. And for that matter, you can add the sugar right at the start and heat until the mixture is completely clear, it comes out just fine. Oh, and if you plan to keep it longer than a month, add an ounce or so of vodka to act as a preservative.