How to Make Your Own Grenadine
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
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While this is a topic that has been covered by pretty much every cocktail blog under the sun, I haven’t yet written about it. Why? Well, for one, I’m lazy and never got around to it. But after having made various versions of grenadine for years at my bars and after doing a little research on the web recently, I’ve wondered if the topic of homemade grenadine couldn’t use a little revisit.
There are a few key problems with a lot of the house-made grenadines out there. The first issue you can see immediately: the color is all wrong. Grenadine isn’t brown, and the good stuff, the real grenadine won’t make your El Presidente look like mud. Grenadine also isn’t pale pink, and it shouldn’t turn your Jack Rose grey. Grenadine is a vibrant shade of magenta, a rich syrup that brightens every cocktail it touches with its sweet, slightly tart, beautifully bright, rich, deep and lightly floral flavors.
A lot of grenadines call for an inordinate amount of work for very little payoff. This recipe is going to take you all of five minutes to prepare and – I promise you – will taste better than anything else you can buy in the stores. Because if there are two things you really need to know about me, it’s the following: I’m lazy and I like stuff that tastes good.
Some recipes are going to tell you you need to remove each individual seed from the pomegranate (a long, painful and finger-stainingly messy process) and either simmer them in water over heat or steep them in water overnight to extract the juice. I’ll tell you what, you want to extract the juice from a pomegranate? Do what I do: cut that puppy open like a grapefruit and press it with your juicer. Done and done. And the resulting juice is far more intense and flavorful than anything you’re going to get from those other methods that employ a bunch of water, believe me.
So now that you’ve got a bunch of fresh pomegranate juice – each full fruit should yield approximately one cup of juice – it’s time to turn it into grenadine. Many of the recipes you’ll see out there are going to tell you to boil the juice until it’s reduced by half, under the guise of concentrating the rich, fresh flavor of the pomegranate. I find this to be an unnecessary, time-consuming process that results in an end product that’s about as delicious as boiled orange juice. My solution is to heat the juice just enough to melt sugar, well below the point of boiling. You’ll still retain the fresh flavor of the pomegranate without having to do all the work of a cold-process grenadine, an ordeal that requires ten minutes of shaking until the sugar is dissolved.
You can do this in a small saucepan, but I just throw it in the microwave for a minute or two, because that’s exactly what microwaves are good for.
Heat your juice up and stir in an equal amount of unbleached sugar. I start with two cups of juice and dissolve two cups of sugar into it, stirring until the mixture is clear. Now what you’ve got is a pomegranate syrup, but not quite yet grenadine. The next step will add the depth of flavor you’re looking for, and for this you’re going to need to make a trip to your local Mediterranean or Latin American market for pomegranate molasses and orange blossom water. I add two ounces of the molasses and a teaspoon of the orange blossom water to my warm mix and stir again until everything is dissolved.
The only step left is to add one ounce of vodka – if you like – this is an optional preservative. If you’re not planning on using your grenadine pretty quickly, like over the span of a month, then add it. But if you’re serving it in a bar and plan on going through it pretty quickly, like I do, then you can just skip it.
Grenadine
2 cups fresh pomegranate juice (approximately two large pomegranates) or POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice
2 cups unbleached sugar
2 oz pomegranate molasses
1 tsp orange blossom water
Heat juice slightly, just enough to allow other ingredients to dissolve easily. Stir in remaining ingredients, allow to cool, and bottle.
10 Dec 2009 at 8:21 AM 1. Kevin L
Nice and simple. I like it!
Now to find some pomegranate molasses…
10 Dec 2009 at 8:50 AM 2. dave
A cool alternative to reducing with heat is freeze-concentrating:
http://bostonapothecary.com/?p=95
Probably a bit labor intensive for a bar, but quite fine for home use.
10 Dec 2009 at 9:26 AM 3. Carlos T
Great recipe Jeff. I’m definitely making this for New Year’s. I love the simplicity….Right up my alley.
and about the pomegranates…..
Just last week I learned how to properly prepare to eat a pomegranate. Turns out I was doing it all wrong.
1. Cut fruit in half.
2. Pound the outside of halfed fruit, with a knife or something, and seeds will easily fall out.
Well, I thought it was simple. Y’all might of known that already…..but since my cable network doesn’t broadcast the Muslim Grandmother’s advice channel, I didn’t know it.
10 Dec 2009 at 9:33 AM 4. John Claude
I always wondered about the removing the seeds bit and all that jazz. When I was messing with pomegranates at Yakuza the juicer worked just beautifully to get a metric shit ton of juice out the fruit.
Where in Portland can I source the molasses?
10 Dec 2009 at 11:12 AM 5. Rocky
Lazy is best!
10 Dec 2009 at 11:56 AM 6. sylvan
@Jean Claude
I know you can find pomegranate molasses at Foti Deli on E Burnside or the little grocery attached to Ya Hala out at SE Stark around 80th. However, like Jeffrey said, almost any Mediterranean or Latin American grocery will have it.
10 Dec 2009 at 12:19 PM 7. Jesh M
Basically the same recipe i use, but I like to use the POM/Cherry juice that they make. I haven’t seen a really good grenadine in the stores, but I saw that Scrappy’s is making one now. Has anyone tried it?
10 Dec 2009 at 1:30 PM 8. Tiare
Hands down brilliant.I`m one of those cocktailbloggers using the picking-out-the-seed-under-water method;-)and ok, its just for my homebar so its ok but if it can be easier the better because i`m lazy too.
Second, i use dried hibiscus flowers to get that deep red color and fresh tropical taste and its fabulous, i have never turned back after that,but..your using of orange flower water and pomegranate molasses intrigues me and i luckily have those things in my fridge right now and as a matter of fact, my grenadine is finished too, so you have now given me a chance to try out a new interesting way to make one of my favorite ingredients and i thank you.
Cheers!
T
10 Dec 2009 at 3:38 PM 9. Damon Fodge
Thanks for that, man. I was never too impressed with my own attempts at homemade grenadine. This is definitely on my to-do bar list.
10 Dec 2009 at 3:46 PM 10. John Claude
Sylvan.
Thanks for the specific locations! I’ll be sure to put those to use ASAP.
10 Dec 2009 at 4:09 PM 11. Janice
Thanks for another great post. I’m another one of those who takes all the seeds out, although I use Tiare’s trick of steeping the seeds with hibiscus flowers to make the grenadine ruby red. Its really pretty. Never thought to try orange flower water.
10 Dec 2009 at 4:41 PM 12. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, everyone.
Tiare and Janice – The hibiscus is a nice idea, but if you’re mainly using it for color then I think you’re headed down the wrong path. The color of pomegranate juice is rich and vibrant when it hasn’t been boiled. Try the juicer trick, I promise great results.
11 Dec 2009 at 1:55 AM 13. Tony
Nice recipe, nice method!
It got me thinking, where am I going to find this molasses. All the stores around me are south American stores and I have never heard about it here in Brazil :)~
11 Dec 2009 at 7:32 AM 14. David
Awesome recipe. In terms of technique, if you’ve got one of those little battery operated milk frothers then try the cold-process using that little guy to mix it all up. No method is easier that I’ve found. And the frother can cocktail multitask and give you an amazing “dry shake” for any fizz or sour you are adding egg whites to.
11 Dec 2009 at 9:24 PM 15. Matt
I tried using pomegranate molasses previously (actually the brand you have pictured)but it left my grenadine an unattractive brownish color, even with a small amount. Did I have a bad batch?
For now I’m using Ferrara (best commercial brand I’ve found) or cold process with POM.
11 Dec 2009 at 9:28 PM 16. Jeffrey K
How long would it last with the vodka?
I’m the only one who drinks around here, so I’m always keeping track of stuff like that…
12 Dec 2009 at 6:01 AM 17. Dominik MJ
Brilliant post.
I was always against this pomegranate water maceration method – but this sounds like a plan.
Though – does the orange flower water not distract from the taste of the grenadine?
Now I have to get this kind of juicers [I don't think that rotary juicers are working?] and have to compare the the [European] Monin Pomegranate syrup. This is pretty good staff as well – and I can be even lazier…
13 Dec 2009 at 4:08 PM 18. Evan Martin
For those of you who can’t find pomegranate molasses or want to make your own, here’s Alton Brown’s recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/grilled-leg-of-lamb-with-pomegranate-molasses-recipe/index.html
It takes a long time but is a little bit better than the bottled stuff.
13 Dec 2009 at 6:41 PM 19. Jason
Jeffrey – what a super simple recipe for a great result, 1 pyrex, 1 spoon – no mess no fuss.
thanks for sharing!
14 Dec 2009 at 3:31 AM 20. Trevor Easter
great recipe… just used your grenadine post in a gin daisy tonight…. got a double thumbs up from the customer, thank you. also i would like to note i was working a private event in SF and someone asked me for a great gin drink… i made them a richmond gimlet (yes i dropped your name along with my smile when i served it) and the bartender next to me asked what was that and i said “a richmond gimlet” and he (marco dionysos) said nice work jeffrey… thought you would like that.
14 Dec 2009 at 4:45 PM 21. Tiare
Yes i will definetily try the juicing,its brilliant and no..i`m not using the hibiscus just for color and if you haven`t tried it i recommend it warmly because it adds a crisp tropical floral flavour that is just hands down lovely.
I believe i may end up using both the juice and the hibiscus.
I also suspect that after i`ve used my juicer (why didn´t i think about that before???) i will not turn back to the underwater seed picking.
T
16 Dec 2009 at 1:41 PM 22. Mike McSorley
The Scrappy’s Grenadine is darn good. Nice and bright, good viscosity, and I think it’s made cold process.
Expensive.
Hard to Get.
I made some tasty pomegranite molasses while trying to reverse engineer the scrappys, but it never came together; so I reduced it down and was pleased with this recipe as a molasses
1 quart fresh pomegranite juice
1.25 quart (or so) sugar
1.25 oz allspice dram
1 375 ml bottle korean pomegranite wine
(see below url)
http://www.21food.com/showroom/56473/product/Pomegranate-Wine.html
4 oz stirrings blood orange bitters.
Heat on high until boiling. reduce heat to medium. let reduce for about a half hour (until the bubbles start to climb up the inside of the pan.
mixture will be concentrated and viscous after cooling.
Works great in a la floridita!
18 Dec 2009 at 11:52 PM 23. John Park
Thanks Jeffrey, this looks good. Now tell me, in your Jack Rose, lemon or lime?
-JP
01 Jan 2010 at 7:57 AM 24. Jim Rees
I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, but if you don’t want to make your own, you can still do way better than buying imitation grenadine at your local liquor store. I use Rieme but almost anything from France will do. You’ll probably have to mail order from Amazon or other good importer.
Same goes for Orgeat and almost any syrup you can think of.
07 Jan 2010 at 7:00 PM 25. Federico Cuco
Jeffrey thank you very much for the instructions to prepare granandina.
I made 2 bottles
My clients in Buenos Aires, are very happy.
Greatly improves all cocktails containing granandine.
In my opinion you’re the best teacher of bartenders on the planet.
Happy New Year
Cuco
12 Jan 2010 at 8:35 AM 26. Brad
I’m going to try making a batch this weekend. I’m considering using a pomegranate concentrate from GNC called Jensen. I figure I can add enough water and simple syrup to get the flavor I want. Has anyone tried using concentrate instead of juice? Also, has anyone tried using agave syrup instead of sugar?
13 Jan 2010 at 6:19 PM 27. Rocky
Have three batches cooling right now, one made with syrup, and two made with concentrate of different dilutions. We’ll see how they taste. They’re definitely not pretty though.
14 Jan 2010 at 12:45 PM 28. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Rocky – what sort of mess have you made of a project as simple as grenadine? The solutions you have should be bright and pretty – if not, then you’ve done something very, very wrong. I fear, not only for you, my friend, but for the people of Seattle, Washington.
Good luck, and may God have mercy on your soul.
25 Jan 2010 at 7:59 PM 29. john
I made this recipe just now it it came out as advertised – delicious and attractive. I had only one old pomegranate in the fridge that yielded only half a cup of juice, but the math was easy and the results superb.
I mixed up two Scofflaws (from Dr Cocktail book) for my wife and myself, one with Rose’s and one with this recipe. We dumped the Rose’s one and shared the one with the new Grenadine!
10 Mar 2010 at 7:24 PM 30. Jim
I gave this recipe a try with mixed results (and a whole lot of mess!) I used my Krups juicer and (3) whole poms resulted in barely (1) cup of juice. The mess was ridiculous. My microwave took 4 minutes to dissolve all the sugar. It ended up bubbling over and left a sticky pom-a-mess all over the interior. The end product was quite delicious, but in the future I’ll do (3) things:
1) Buy POM juice from the supermarket instead of juicing fresh poms.
2) Dissolve the sugar on the stove in a saucepan.
3) Use less Orange Blossom Water. That stuff is uber-fragrant and a little goes a long long way.
13 Apr 2010 at 6:01 PM 31. Michael Maier
http://www.strirrings.com
Stirrings makes a real grenadine with pure sugar (not HFCS). I think it has a good flavor to it.
I like a small drizzle in a good vodka for a simple cocktail.
I wouldn’t mind trying the fresh recipe here though. Sounds very good and I love making bar fixings fresh (fresh sour mix is killer).
23 May 2010 at 11:20 AM 32. Jeff Frane
OK, that was ridiculously easy, one might even say “simple.” The kicker is the pomegranate molasses, which is obscenely good on its own.
I had previously used the reduction method and not only was it time-consuming, the resulting syrup was much too thick, especially since I was keeping it in the fridge. I feel a Picon Punch coming on.
For Portland-area shoppers, I found the ingredients at Barbur World Foods, which may be my new home.
06 Jun 2010 at 3:17 PM 33. Ginty
Hey, just wondering is there a difference between Orange Flower Water and Orange BLOSSOM Water.
The Blossom Water is at my local supermarket, so was unsure if it’s the same product or not.
06 Jun 2010 at 4:38 PM 34. john
It’s the same thing – just a matter of translation. An orange blossom IS an orange flower, it’s just that different importers have the same product name translated different ways.
25 Jul 2010 at 12:40 PM 35. Omar
My wife and I were wondering how long is the shell life of the grenadine?
26 Jul 2010 at 8:54 AM 36. john
I made mine 6 months ago and used some last week – it still tasted and smelled great.
I keep it in a smallish glass bottle in the fridge, and when it gets low enough I move into into a new smaller clean glass bottle.
27 Jul 2010 at 10:29 AM 37. Mr. Exclusive
I came here because I wanted to make a Grenade, not Grenadine! >.> (Curses his dyslexia as he closes this random grenade recipe)
01 Nov 2010 at 10:05 PM 38. Dave
Hust used this method to make grenadine, and it turned out great! I might use your ginger beer recipe once I get the equipment! Thanks from this poor grad student for some economical and fun things to make.
06 Jan 2011 at 3:51 PM 39. Steve Garcia
Excellent recipe. I made 2 modifications.
I used Hangar 1 Mandarin Blossom for preservative & I steeped 2 Hibiscus tea bags for 5 minutes as the mixture cooled. The tea adds more vibrant color and also cleans up the finish, while the vodka gives a bit more depth to the flavor profile. CHEERS!