Grenadine should be made from pomegranates. It is a great sweetening ingredient because of its tartness. However, most commercial suppliers just sell you red simple syrup that’s nothing like true grenadine, at all.
How to make homemade grenadine
The most difficult part is seeding the pomegranate without making your kitchen look like an abattoir. I found this article, which explains a method that isn’t that messy. The article also talks about how the pomegranate has 613 seeds, each of which corresponds to one of the commandments of Judaism, so I just give you a summary and save you the trip.
Cut pomegranate in half. Place pomegranate in bowl and fill bowl with water until pomegranate is covered. With your fingers you can now remove the rest of the skin and the seeds from the skin underwater. The skin will rise to the surface, the seeds fall to the bottom. Remove the skin, strain et voilà.
For the juice, put the seeds in a blender, blend and then press through a fine sieve, or use a juicer.
- 100 grams fresh pomegranate juice (about what you get from 1 pomegranate)
- 50 grams of brown sugar
- 3 dashes of orange flower water
- Blend until sugar has dissolved. Add a splash of vodka for longer shelf life, and bottle.
Homemade grenadine in action: the Bacardi Cocktail
The Bacardi cocktail is one of the few drinks that is trademarked; so it can only be called so if its made with Bacardi. Originally, it was just a Daiquirí made with Bacardi, but over the time it changed to use grenadine. Now, in the 80s, that was a horrible thing, because using commercial grenadine you’d end up with a red, sugary mess. However, using the homemade grenadine, I find its floral taste plays off the vanilla notes in the Bacardi very well; turning it into something similar to an Aviation on rum.
- 40 ml Bacardi 44.5%
- 20 ml lime juice
- 15 ml homemade grenadine
- Shake, and strain into pre-chilled coupette.
