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At home with Shirley Temple

If you are not in India, you have probably never seen a mocktail on a menu. Mixed drinks without any alcohol, mocktails are a must have in a country where so many people stay away from alcohol.

My favorite star of the mocktail world is Shirley Temple. Concocted for the teetotaler Ms. Temple, it really is the simplest of mocktails to make. You essentially mix grenadine with a lime-lemon flavored soda. Ginger ale, Sprite, 7 Up all work well here. The fancier versions “build” the drink, meaning you gradually float grenadine on top of soda so you can see two differently colored layers. Others swear by a shot of orange juice to improve the drink. Try it any way you want; for this post is not about Shirley Temple recipes. It's about grenadine.

I have tried buying Grenadine Syrup, but it was frankly too sweet for my taste. Plus every syrup and mixer you buy comes in those huge bottles that would make a thousand drinks. So what's a soul to do when she wants just ONE Shirley Temple. This soul decided to make her own grenadine syrup.



The ruby red Afghani pomegranates are in season now so that's where I started. Extracted 1/2 cup juice from pomegranate arils (seeds), then added 2 tbsp sugar and heated the juice/sugar in a saucepan until it boiled and then simmered it until it was halved and syrupy.

By the time it cooled, the fresh grenadine had all the goodness of pomegranate flavors and none of the bottled preservative feel. And isn't it the most loveliest of colors!
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Comments

Sunshinemom said…
Brings to mind Hans Anderson's fairy tale about the dancing red shoes! I love pom juice without sugar but should try this out at least once! Neat!
December 15, 2008 at 6:42 PM
CurryLeaf said…
Lovely Simran.It i amust try for me too.the pic is lovely and lovely
December 15, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Aparna Balasubramanian said…
That's a most unusual and interesting bottle.
I once made pomegranate syrup because there was so much pomegarante at home and no one was eating it!
December 15, 2008 at 11:26 PM
Bharti said…
You made grenadine syrup??
Cool!
December 16, 2008 at 9:01 AM
Biswajit said…
color? flavor? i am speechless at the beauty of the bottle here!
December 17, 2008 at 7:15 PM
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