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| Pomegranate "jewels" ready to juice |
As an added bonus, pomegranates were on sale at the beginning of December. I've covered this in the blog before, but real grenadine is not made from overly-sweet cherry juice. Instead, it is a sweetened pomegranate molasses (and "grenadine" comes from the French word for pomegranate). Home-made grenadine is much darker and richer than the pale red store-bought stuff, and it tastes a little different as well. I've made it before using store-bought pomegranate juice, but to make this extra special, I juiced my own pomegranates. I've included the instructions for making your own grenadine below with lots of pictures, but first, here is the recipe for the perfect Shirley Temple:
Fill a Collins glass 3/4 full with ice
Pour 3/4-1 oz grenadine (or to taste) in the bottom of the Collins glass.
Top with lemon-lime soda or ginger ale, leaving room in the glass to stir
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| Happy customers |
Stir well with barspoon to combine.
Top with a maraschino cherry (homemade if you please, store-bought if you're serving minors)
The Mason girls preferred Sprite Zero in their Shirley Temples, but my nephew Joey was a big fan of Vernor's Ginger Ale (as am I). My niece Molly just wanted the Sprite, no syrup or cherry. You can't please them all...
Home-Made Grenadine
Here are the instructions for making home-made grenadine, from pomegranate to syrup:
Cut open pomegranate and carefully remove all the "jewels" (seeds). This is best done underwater - fill a large bowl with tap water, and cut each pomegranate in half under the water line. This reduces splatter - otherwise you wind up with a kitchen that is stained bright red from exploding jewels. Continue to work the fruit underwater to separate the seeds from the membrane. 4 pomegranates will produce approximately 2-3 cups of syrup.
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| Hazards of working with pomegranates |
Juice the pomegranate seeds using a kitchen juicer. Alternatively, you could use cheesecloth, but that is bound to be messy. Skim off any frothy residue and transfer to a medium pot.
Bring the juice to boil, and continue to heat over medium-high heat until the juice has reduced by half, approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove from stove and weigh the molasses using a kitchen scale.
Return the molasses to a medium-heat, and add an equal weigh of table sugar. Stir to combine fully, and allow to cool. Transfer to a sterilized mason jar for storage. Will keep for 2-3 weeks.
These kiddos hope you enjoy your Shirley Temples!
