Pomegranate sparkling water, three ways
The unsweetened infusion, the syrup, and the ratio that makes the finished drink.
In season: October to January. Out of season, bottled 100% pomegranate juice is the honest substitute, and it is what you want for the syrup regardless.
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Infused, unsweetened
Use
1.5 cups arils per 1 litre, crushed
Method
Whole arils sitting in water give almost nothing because the juice is sealed inside a tough skin. Press them against the side of the jar with a wooden spoon until most have burst, then cover with cold still water and refrigerate. Strain, then let it stand ten minutes so the sediment drops.
Time
4 hours from the moment they are crushed
Sparkling
Still water for the steep, top after straining.
Keeps
2 days refrigerated. It stains everything it touches, wooden spoon and white shirt included.
The syrup
Ratio
2 cups 100% pomegranate juice : 1 cup sugar
Method
Warm the juice gently and stir the sugar through until it dissolves, about 5 minutes, without letting it boil. Off the heat, stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon orange flower water if you have it.
Keeps
1 month refrigerated. A tablespoon of vodka per cup takes it out to 3 months.
Note
This is grenadine. The red bottle on the supermarket shelf is usually corn syrup and dye with no pomegranate in it at all, so what you make at home will not taste like an improved version of it. It tastes like a different ingredient.
The finished soda
1 part syrup to 5 parts sparkling water, over ice, lemon wedge
Two dashes of orange bitters if there are any in the house.
The shrub version
1.5 cups pomegranate juice, 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup red wine vinegar stirred cold until dissolved. Keeps 3 months. Half an ounce in sparkling water lands closer to a soda than a vinegar drink.
What doesn't work: Halving the whole fruit and reaming it like an orange. That crushes the white membrane along with the arils, and the membrane is powerfully bitter, so the juice comes out astringent and the syrup made from it is worse. Break the arils out first, then press only the arils.
Goes with: OrangeGingerMintHibiscus