Originally, Grenadine was a sweet syrup made from pomegranate juice, but in that capitalistic attitude of trying to produce the cheapest possible product that the customer will accept, the manufacturers of Grenadine began switching to ingredients other than pomegranates to color and flavor their syrups. Some would even do little more than add red food coloring and citric acid to sugar syrup, thinking that this is all that was necessary. Such a switch had little impact on customers who were simply looking for a stiff belt at a cheap price.
Thankfully, the same resurgence we are currently seeing with quality craftsmanship cocktails is also bleeding over into seeing a renewed interest in restoring grenadine to its former glory. This interest is heightened by various reports that indicate various health benefits of pomegranate juice.
There are at least two commercial companies that are now making Grenadine from real pomegranate juice, Stirrings, and the Sonoma Syrup Company (they call theirs simply “Pomegranate Syrup” however). Both of which I believe are using the fairly new-to-market POM juice in their products.
While still rather difficult to find, I would recommend searching out one of these products at a gourmet kitchen/food shop.
It is of course also possible to make your own grenadine at home, and without too much trouble as Nika did for her Grenadine Lemonade. Many people have simply been using POM pomegranate juice and using it in place of water when making simple syrup.
Grenadine: Recipe #1
- Bring two cups of pomegranate juice to a simmer, slowly stir in two cups of sugar and stir until it is dissolved.
- Bottle, add 1 ounce of vodka as a preservative, and store in the refrigerator.
Prior to there being a good source of pomegranate juice, many die-hards would resort to actually juicing their pomegranates manually. A messy process to say the least.
Myself, I got a recipe from my good friends Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown
They simply simmer pomegranate seeds in simple syrup for about half an hour or so to allow the seeds to give up their essences to the syrup. I have found that this results in a grenadine with an interesting extra bit of character and flavor that comes from the seeds themselves that you don’t get with plain juice.
Grenadine: Recipe#2
- Make simple syrup by bringing two cups of water to a simmer, and slowly stirring in two cups of sugar until it is dissolved.
- Add in the seeds of two pomegranates and continue to simmer for 30 minutes or more.
- Strain this through a fine metal strainer, pressing on the seeds to get as much of their still gelatinous covering to press through the sieve as well.
- Bottle, add 1 ounce of vodka as a preservative, and store in the refrigerator.
One handy hint in making this has to do with getting the seeds out of the pomegranate. Simply slice the skin of the pomegranate so you can remove most of it, and then holding the pomegranate submerged in a large bowl of water, slowly work the seeds out with your thumbs.
