Making your own grenadine

[slkinsey]

This is perhaps for a different topic, but I think it depends on how dogmatic the drinker would like to be. I would consider a tall drink that incorporates a few dashes of Angotura or a half-ounce of orgeat to be "nonalcoholic." But, at the same time, I would consider meat served on a plate that had previously had cheese on it to "not contain any dairy," I would consider vegetables cooked on the same grill that had previously cooked meat to be "vegetarian," and I would consider a piece of cheese sliced with a knife that had previously touched a piece of salmon to "not contain any fish." I think these are reasonable views to have, but other people might not agree and would have valid reasons to hold their own views.

Anyone who would eat a dish of penne alla vodka or coq au vinshould not quibble over a "nonalcoholic" drink made with a small amount of Angostura biters or orgeat. But people aren't always logical.

[thirtyoneknots]

This is perhaps for a different topic, but I think it depends on how dogmatic the drinker would like to be. I would consider a tall drink that incorporates a few dashes of Angotura or a half-ounce of orgeat to be "nonalcoholic." But, at the same time, I would consider meat served on a plate that had previously had cheese on it to "not contain any dairy," I would consider vegetables cooked on the same grill that had previously cooked meat to be "vegetarian," and I would consider a piece of cheese sliced with a knife that had previously touched a piece of salmon to "not contain any fish." I think these are reasonable views to have, but other people might not agree and would have valid reasons to hold their own views.

Anyone who would eat a dish of penne alla vodka or coq au vinshould not quibble over a "nonalcoholic" drink made with a small amount of Angostura biters or orgeat. But people aren't always logical.

Doesn't "nonalcoholic beer" contain up to .5% alcohol even?

[eje]

I guess it's just another of those things where there is never one right answer. Just the one right answer for whomever you are serving at the time.

From people like me who think bittered soda water is perfectly fine on an "alcohol free day" to someone who will freak out if they find out there is a tiny drop of spirits in their drink.

Women who think the odd glass of wine isn't going to hurt baby, to those who will call child protective services if there is alcohol based vanilla extract in their muffin while they are pregnant.

[Shalmanese]

Back to the grenadine topic, I've been wondering whether putting a shallow plate of pomegranate juice in the fridge overnight might be an effective way to make grenadine without sugar or boiling. It would be much more intense that normal grenadine & hopefully have a purer flavor. When fresh pomegranates come into season, I'm going to try it.

edit: I have a mini fridge which I use for beer & ice only so I don't have to worry about flavor contamination.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Shalmanese (log)

[Kent Wang]

Or just a dehydrator?

[vice]

ice wine grenadine via bostonapothecary. along the same idea, but i don't think the fridge will get you anywhere close to concentrated enough.

[Kanuk]

Thanks all for the loads of tips on the preparation and use of grenadine. I've just made my first couple batches from fresh pomegranates, as I can't get any ready-made pomegranate juice around here. I reduced it a bit mixed 2:1 sugar-to-juice, and to my taste it turned out beautifully. I'm sure some additional tweaking after the tips from Sam and others can improve it even more.

A question for those who have used fresh fruit rather than juice. What's the best method for juicing a pomegranate? It seems the juice is all in the seed pods, which don't always get properly crushed using a standard citrus juicer (the skin seems to fall apart first). Someone mentioned blending (and then straining, I presume), but I fear that this would impart some extra bitterness from the actual seeds and the guck that holds the seeds together.

And another question about mixing: Are there any cocktails where the grenadine is best layered at the bottom and the shaken mix floated on top? I find the layered effect visually appealing, but basically you just end up drinking a grenadine-free cocktail and then are left with red goo at the bottom of your glass (or maybe my syrup is too thick to allow a natural mixing after the pour?).

Edited September 22, 2009 by Kanuk (log)

[Kent Wang]

ice wine grenadine via bostonapothecary. along the same idea, but i don't think the fridge will get you anywhere close to concentrated enough.

Wow, that sounds cool.

But juicing pomegranate and only getting 2 oz yield per fruit is pretty low, and uneconomical. I use 3/4 oz of grenadine in a single Scofflaw so I plow through it pretty quickly.

You could still do the ice wine technique with store-bought pomegranate juice. I'll try that.

[Shalmanese]

There are two techniques I use to juice poms depending on the yield to effort ratio:

The fastest way I've found is to just cut them in half and squeeze them by hand as you would a lemon, I get reasonable yields very quickly.

The slower way is a way I learned on egullet where you cut them in half and then bang on them with a wooden spoon over a bowl of water. The seeds fall out and everything else stays in the fruit. From there, I give it a could of quick blends in the blender and then mash the mixture through a sieve.

[Chris Amirault]

Though sold on the orange flower water addition. I was skeptical about Sam's vanilla idea until I added a few drops to my Jack Rose tonight. By gum, that was a tasty addition. Not sure it would always work, but I'm a convert with that cocktail, at least.

[vice]

I bought up a bunch of pomegranates yesterday and set to squeezing for a trial run of ice wine grenadine. Here's the recap:

I needed 2 small and 3 medium pomegranates to yield a hair over 16 oz of juice (I used a hand juicer with halved fruit). This was frozen overnight and left to thaw for a few hours today in a perforated deli cup until I recovered 8 oz of concentrated juice. Pre-freeze, the juice was around 18 brix. This increased to about 26 brix in the concentrate. My increase was a bit less than bostonapothecary reported, but my start and finish values were higher as well. The left-over portion had a brix around 10. I forgot to keep track of the amount of sugar required to bring me up to 40 brix - will do this with the next batch. As of right now, I haven't added any additional flavorings, but I may portion it out to compare how the additions of orange flower water and/or vanilla work.

I suppose the cat's out of the bag with the mention that there will be a next batch. I really like this compared to other commercial or homemade grenadines I've tried. I was spurred to try the freeze-concentration route because I've found myself increasingly put off by the cooked/candy flavors of most bottled pomegranate juice. I would guess that this product is fairly untraditional by grenadine standards, but the fruit comes through so much better that to me it's a vast improvement. And the color really is stunning. Thanks to bostonapothecary for the inspiration.

[Paulo Freitas]

It's a shame my first post on eGullet is about bad news

I live in Rio, Brazil, and it's really difficult to find some exotic ingredients over here (ok, I can find Açaí berries in every corner, but that's something completely different). Forget about Creme de Violette, Chartreuse, Orange Bitters and a hole plethora of spirits and liqueurs.

I came empty handed back from my search for pomegranates... no juice, no molasses, no concentrate, no even the actual fruit itself. I think i have to put my grenadine making plans on hold for now, at least I can find some pomegranates and go through the painstaking process of making fresh pomegranate juice.

Meanwhile, I could only find the Lebanese Orange Flower Water from Zeenny. Right know I think it's impossible to get hold of some Monteux bottles or any of the European varieties. Have anyone heard of these Lebanese brand? any directions on proportions compared to the Europeans ones?

Time to taste my first batch of ginger syrup

[David Santucci]

Have anyone heard of these Lebanese brand? any directions on proportions compared to the Europeans ones?

Based on my (limited) experience with Lebanese Orange Flower Water, it has a very soapy flavor and should be kept far away from any cocktail you plan on drinking.

[Paulo Freitas]

The other option that I have is to try a Brazilian brand that tries to look like a Lebanese brand. I was afraid at first but gonna try anyway

[KatieLoeb]

I've been using the Cortas Orange Blossom Water from Lebanon for some time with great success.

[buffalo bill]

My wife (hathor) makes her own Grenadine syrup (ratio 1.5 pom to 1 simple syrup), and as it is, in fact, pomegranate season here in Umbria now, we made a small batch, and had friends over for cocktails and dinner last night. We made 'Pomeranians': 2 parts Gin (Hendrick's),

.5 parts Lime juice,

.5 parts St Germaine,

.5 parts Grenadine

Garnished with a lime peel

Very girly-pink in color, but tasty and strong. Give it a shot, and let me know what you think.

[feste]

Meanwhile, I could only find the Lebanese Orange Flower Water from Zeenny. Right know I think it's impossible to get hold of some Monteux bottles or any of the European varieties. Have anyone heard of these Lebanese brand? any directions on proportions compared to the Europeans ones?

I also think the Cortas Lebanese brand is not bad, although it is much stronger than Monteux. I'd use 1/2 to 1/3 the amount that you would use of the French. And can you get mail order there? I go through so much OFW I order it off Amazon.

[slkinsey]

Meanwhile, I could only find the Lebanese Orange Flower Water from Zeenny. Right know I think it's impossible to get hold of some Monteux bottles or any of the European varieties. Have anyone heard of these Lebanese brand? any directions on proportions compared to the Europeans ones?

I also think the Cortas Lebanese brand is not bad, although it is much stronger than Monteux. I'd use 1/2 to 1/3 the amount that you would use of the French.

Really?! I have never found any of the Middle Eastern brands of OFW anywhere near as strong as Monteaux. I mean, Monteaux can overpower a drink if you use more than three drops of the stuff. How do you use 1/3 the amount of that? Is Cortas really so strong that two drops would take over a Ramos Fizz?

[KatieLoeb]

I'm with Sam on this one. The Monteaux is REALLY strong, so much so that literally a couple of drops will do the trick. The Cortas brand flower waters are easier to use because they don't become as overwhelming. I use about a teaspoon of Cortas OFW per quart of finished grenadine and that seems fine to me. Subtly floral and not overwhelming. But like salt, I suppose this is a matter of taste...

[Paulo Freitas]

And can you get mail order there? I go through so much OFW I order it off Amazon.

Amazon doesn't do international shipping for this kind of item. It seems I will have to wait 'till someone goes to the US or Europe and try to smuggle some for me

[RoyalSwagger]

And can you get mail order there? I go through so much OFW I order it off Amazon.

Amazon doesn't do international shipping for this kind of item. It seems I will have to wait 'till someone goes to the US or Europe and try to smuggle some for me

Are you looking for a certain brand or does that matter? If you have access to Orange Blossoms, then making Orange Flower Water is quite easy, it's just simple distillation.

[mkayahara]

And can you get mail order there? I go through so much OFW I order it off Amazon.

Amazon doesn't do international shipping for this kind of item. It seems I will have to wait 'till someone goes to the US or Europe and try to smuggle some for me

Are you looking for a certain brand or does that matter? If you have access to Orange Blossoms, then making Orange Flower Water is quite easy, it's just simple distillation.

I can't help but notice that this discussion has gone off the rails a bit. If you can't even get pomegranates, then distilling your own orange flower water seems like overkill, especially since I would argue that orange flower water, while a nice fillip, is not essential to the flavour of grenadine.

[thirtyoneknots]

And can you get mail order there? I go through so much OFW I order it off Amazon.

Amazon doesn't do international shipping for this kind of item. It seems I will have to wait 'till someone goes to the US or Europe and try to smuggle some for me

Are you looking for a certain brand or does that matter? If you have access to Orange Blossoms, then making Orange Flower Water is quite easy, it's just simple distillation.

I can't help but notice that this discussion has gone off the rails a bit. If you can't even get pomegranates, then distilling your own orange flower water seems like overkill, especially since I would argue that orange flower water, while a nice fillip, is not essential to the flavour of grenadine.

Hahaha, much-needed reality check. You might be a cocktail geek if...

[Dan Perrigan]

My best homemade grenadine started with 100% pomegranate juice from the Russian grocery store. 16 oz. got boiled down to half volume and then 16 oz. sugar were added. Also added about 1/4 cup of pomegranate molasses for viscosity and mouthfeel and allowed it to melt in while still hot. Another 16 oz. was done via the "cold" method where I just shook the hell out of it until it was saturated with sugar. Approximately just a bit more than equal volume. I combined these two batches, added just a little bit of orange flower water (to my taste was about a half tablespoon, IIRC) and about 1.5 oz. of vodka (100 proof) to make it shelf stable. Voila! Homemade grenadine with both the richer flavor and viscosity of cooked and the fresh fruitiness of cold method.

Hi All.

I just made a batch of grenadine using this recipe. Wow. This stuff is amazing. I immediately mixed myself a Monkey Gland to test it out. It was good, but I need to try it again with blood oranges.

Besides the Jack Rose (I don't have any Laird's Bonded handy), are there any other cocktails you'd recommend that showcase a good grenadine?

Thanks!

Dan Perrigan

[Kent Wang]

I think the Scofflaw is the best showcase of grenadine.

I just tried Sam's recipe and it's great. Certainly an improvement on using pomegranate molasses, as he claims. Look's like Katie's recipe is pretty similar.

Next, I'm going to try the icewine method.