With its bright red color, there is a common misconception that grenadine, the syrup used to flavor many cocktails, is made with cherries. The thick, sweet liquid is actually made with pomegranate juice (the word grenadine is derived from the French word for pomegranate, grenade).
When I realized that the sweetener was very simple to make, I decided to whip up a batch and present it to my sister, who enjoys the occasional "cherry" coke. Homemade grenadine is a great hostess gift, especially for someone who is into mixology. To look at the incredibly easy recipe, read more.
Homemade Grenadine
From Food and Wine Cocktails 2008
From Food and Wine Cocktails 2008
Ingredients
1 quart pomegranate juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon orange flower water
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, simmer the pomegranate juice over moderate heat until reduced by half.
- Add the sugar and the orange flower water and stir until dissolved. Let cool, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
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Marc by Marc Jacobs
And where can one find orange flower water?
1I think I've seen it at Whole Foods before.
2Calster, I've seen it at BevMo before, too, or any top-notch liquor store.
3Help! My pomagrenate tree bears fruit in the summer...can the juice be frozen for later use? If this syrup only last three weeks in the fridge, I won't be able to prepare it during the summer with fresh juice and store it until the holiday season. I'm grateful for any suggestions. This sounds like just the thing for adding to the flavored liquors and goodies baskets (using the peppermint bark, chocolate covered bacon, and homemade vanilla recipes from YumSugar site too).
4Rancher's Girl, I think you could freeze the fresh pomegranate juice. I used the bottled kind and it came out fabulous.
5Call me a food snob, but I don't categorize using pre-made bottled pomegranate juice as "homemade" grenadine. Basically all you're doing is adding sugar, big freak'in deal. I'm sure using fresh pomegranate would yield MUCH better results.
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