Homemade Grenadine Syrup

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This particular food love of mine started on a day long ago. It was a perfect day, the sky was blue and shiny. From the inside of a quaint cafe came the tantalizing aromas of coffee, however, that day I wanted to try something new. I ordered something called ‘Grenadine Italian soda’. I fell in instant food love at the first sip of this beautifully pink, refreshingly bubbly fruit flavored concoction.

Fast forward to the near present and it had been years since I last had a grenadine soda. Actually, I had forgotten all about it. But one day, while browsing the liquors available at the supermarket, I saw a bottle of grenadine syrup and the memories came crashing back. Excitement! I would make it for my little girl and she would love it just as I had!

However upon closer inspection I discovered to my disappointment that the bottle of grenadine syrup was just sugar and artificial flavorings and colors. Yucky! Surely that was not what grenadine syrup really was. To my relief I discovered that traditional grenadine syrup was made from pomegranate. It was time to make some delicious fruity and refreshing Homemade Grenadine Syrup!

I really was quite astounded that grenadine syrup was so straightforward. Surely something so delicious would be more complicated. But no, it really is this simple. It's basically just fruit syrup.

Get yourself some pomegranates. They’re in season from September to December so grab ‘em now. When buying pomegranates the most important factor is their weight. They should be heavy, indicating lots of liquid inside, and quite firm to the touch. The color should be deep versus light.

The next thing is to remove all those tiny little seeds inside the pomegranate. The easiest way is to cut the fruit in half and then take a wood spoon and pound the seeds out. Check out our video of how to pound the seeds out. It's a fun way to work off some stress!

Now how to get the pink juicy bits, called the ‘aril’, separate from all those tiny little pomegranate seeds inside? In my research on this step I read that many folk will completely blitz even the little white seeds inside before pressing the juice out. But I worried that the seeds might add unexpected flavors.

So I just blitzed the pomegranate seeds a few times. Just enough to pop the membranes around the aril, releasing the juices without blitzing the white seeds.

By doing that it becomes really easy to use your hands to squeeze all the juice from the seeds. Squeeze over a strainer placed over a bowl to catch the seeds separate from the juices.

Beautiful freshly squeezed pink pomegranate juice! Tart and sweet at the same time. And packed with loads of antioxidants and vitamin C!

The other main ingredient needed to make this fantastic grenadine syrup is plain old sugar. Yup, that's right, it's just fruit juice and sugar and, if you like, a dash of orange blossom water to add an extra flavor mysterious citrusy layer. Actually I take it back. Not if you like. You must add orange blossom water, it really does add the extra flavor sparkle.

Oh the lovely bottles of grenadine we made that day! Jewel toned bottles of pink yummiliciousness! We've got them packed away in the fridge for now. All we need to do to have a wowzer of a refreshing drink is to pour some fizzy water in a glass and add a splash of grenadine. Take a sip...aaah...so refreshing!

Homemade Grenadine Syrup Recipe

(makes 3 1/2 cups of syrup) Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

2 large pomegranates, makes approx. 2.5 cups of juice
2 1/2 cups sugar, 500g
1 tsp orange blossom water

Directions:

Remove arils (pomegranate seeds) from the pomegranate skin. In batches, blitz the arils in blender for a few secs until the membranes holding the pink juices is ruptured. Use hands to squeeze all the juice into a bowl. Discard seeds.

Add juice and sugar to a pot. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 20 mins. Use a fine mesh strainer every once in a while to scoop off scum from surface. Remove from heat and let cool.

Once the syrup is completely cooled add the orange blossom water. Pour into sterilized jars, cork, and store in fridge until ready to use to make soda (see recipe below).

Italian Grenadine Soda Recipe

(makes one glass) Prep time: 1 min

Ingredients: