All of the flavor, 1/10th of the cost. 🌺
Firstly, if you have never had a legit grenadine, do yourself a favor and head over to our Very Good Grenadine Recipe and learn the ways of the good stuff.
For those of us who have caught a taste for grenadine but want to save some money on expensive pomegranate juice, there’s a new grenadine in town.
ENTER: HIBISCUS GRENADINE! 🌺🌺🌺
Be sure to write down today’s date because it is a momentous occasion; today is the day you become a lean, mean, grenadine-making machine.
So let’s make some hibiscus grenadine!
But First, Rapid Fire Questions!
What is Grenadine Syrup?
Real grenadine is not “pomegranate syrup”, but it is made with pomegranates.
Pomegranate syrup is only pomegranate juice and sugar. Grenadine has the addition of pomegranate molasses and orange blossom water (or Rose Water). This gives the syrup a fruity, tart, and floral flavor.
What is Hibiscus Flower?
Hibiscus or “Flor de Jamaica” as it’s known in South America is a type of flower that is usually dried and steeped in water to create a tart and floral tea with just a tinge of drying tannin. It’s vibrant purple-red color is striking and it is used widely in Mexican cuisine in things like Chamoy, and Agua de Jamaica.
What does Hibiscus Flower taste like?
While hibiscus flower is obviously floral, it also has a surprisingly pleasant fruity, tart, and tannic quality that makes it fantastic in a wide variety of culinary applications.
Is Hibiscus Grenadine a 1:1 replacement for Pomegranate Grenadine?
YES! While it is slightly different in it’s flavor profile, Hibiscus Grenadine has all of the color and floral flavor you’d expect from a high quality grenadine and will work great in any classic cocktail recipe that requires grenadine.
Is Hibiscus Grenadine Vegan?
When you make homemade grenadine using certified organic sugar, it is vegan. This is because organic sugar cannot go through the same bone char refinement that non-organic sugar can.
You can also use beet sugar, which doesn’t involve any bone char.
How to make Hibiscus Tea or “Agua de Jamaica”?
Add 25 grams of dried hibiscus flower to a container and cover them in 800 grams of hot water. Allow this to steep for AT LEAST 20-30 minutes or until the color is a deep red-ish-purple and the flavor is tart and slightly tannic.
What’s the shelf life of this grenadine syrup?
This syrup will keep in the refrigerator for a month (or longer if you decide to freeze it), but be sure to always, always use the “smell test”. For best storage practices, wipe the lip and sides of whatever bottle or container you are storing your syrup.
How much does Hibiscus Grenadine cost?
Let’s break down the costs for making Hibiscus Grenadine based on the cost of the dried hibiscus flowers, which are $14.97 per pound (about 454g).
- Jamaica Tea: $0.50
- Hibiscus Molasses: $0.03
- Rose Water: $0.12
- Sugar: $0.04
Total Cost = $0.69
The total cost of Hibiscus Grenadine is $0.69 per liter or about $0.02 per ounce!!
Compare this to our Very Good Grenadine recipe which costs $0.22 per ounce, hibiscus grenadine is 10x cheaper than our original recipe. Not to mention the prices you’d likely pay for a high-quality store-bought grenadine which can be up to $2.00 per ounce!
That’s a potential savings of 1000x!!
Suffice to say, I think we have something great on our hands. Make Hibiscus Grenadine and thank me l8r sk8r!
Hibiscus Grenadine
This grenadine alternative is 10x cheaper to make than the original and every bit as tasty and vibrant!
Ingredients
- JAMAICA TEA
- 25 g dried Jamaica flowers
- 800g water (hot)
- HIBISCUS MOLASSES
- 25g sugar
- 125g hibiscus tea
- 2g citric acid
- JAMAICA GRENADINE
- 500g jamaica tea
- 500 g sugar
- ~2 tablespoons hibiscus molasses
- 2 Barspoon Rose water
Instructions
- Make Jamaica Molasses: In a small saucepan, combine 125g hibiscus tea, 25g Sugar, and 2g citrus acid OR the juice from 1 half of a lemon
- Over medium-low heat, stir the mixture constantly until sugar is melted.
- Allow the mixture to reduce over low heat for about 20-30 minutes, stirring often and scraping the sides of the pot so that none of the mixture crystallizes onto the sides of the pan.
- When the mixture has reduced about 50%-75% you can remove from the heat.
- Assemble the Grenadine: In the same saucepan with the homemade molasses (or 2 Tablespoons of store-bought pom. molasses), combine the rest of the sugar and hibiscus tea.
- Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. You may need to pop this back onto the stove over low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, to help the sugar melt.
- Allow syrup to cool before adding 1 barspoon or .25 teaspoon of Rose Water (or Orange Blossom Water). After tasting your grenadine, you can decide If you'd like to add another barspoon of Rose or Orange Blossom Water.
- Store in an airtight container, keep refrigerated(or frozen), and enjoy!
Notes
Grenadine should last at least 1 month!