The intent to make this syrup came one day when a friend and I were discussing a dish with pomegranate syrup. Though the recipe failed to capture my interest however the mention of pomegranate syrup ignited enough interest in me to make it at home. Why make it at home you ask, when I can pick a bottle straight from the market? Now, pomegranate is a fruit that is popular in India and its ruby pearly fruit is almost always consumed as it is or squished to obtain juice. It is not used in syrup form; or at least I have never seen pomegranate syrup in any traditional Indian dish. Therefore a bottled version of syrup is not available in Indian markets.
So, that meant I could not procure it from market, leaving with me with just one option – that of making my own. Now THAT is something that I always love to do. Making any dish from scratch is something I simply love doing! In fact, I find the whole process strangely therapeutic. My home made golden syrup, unsalted white butter, soya paneer and yogurt, posts are a testimony to my assertion. So, friends, as promised on my 100th post earlier, here is the recipe for pomegranate syrup. The uses of this syrup are fun – drizzle over pannacotta, use it for dressing a salad, pour it in your lemonade or spritzer or turn it into popsicle, drizzle over a (poked) sponge cake or a pancake and enjoy its tangy taste, use it to marinate lamb or beef and then grill it (pour the juices over the cooked steak…yum!).
In my view, there is barely anything such as a recipe for any syrup. Just as a basic syrup recipe involves heating of sugar with water or any juice and thickening it to a particular consistency (one string, two string – something which I have never been able to understand or do to perfection going by this yardstick) However, I rather do that by gauging the syrup with my eye and seeing how it drops down from the spoon or coats the back of a spoon. I guess practice and instinct help me do a better job at it than the fancy ‘string’ consistency thing!
For making this syrup, you need to heat the sugar and pomegranate juice on medium heat and letting it simmer till the syrup is reduced to approximately half the amount. At this point you need to judge how thick you want the syrup to be; but one thing that needs to be kept in mind while doing this is to remember that the syrup will further thicken on cooling. Feel free to reduce or increase the amount of sugar. The amount of sugar will be basically dependent on the sweetness of the pomegranate juice being used. The pomegranates I used were sweet therefore I needed less sugar. I used the following measurements…
Fresh Pomegranate Juice
2 cups fresh pomegranate juice (I could procure it from 4 medium sized poms)1½ - 2 tbsp sugarLemon juicePlace the juice and sugar in a sauce pan. Stir the juice on high heat till sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat and keep simmering the juice stirring once in a while. Reduce the juice to nearly half. Add a dash of lemon juice.
Cool and store in a glass bottle.
Note: I reduced it further coz I wanted a little thicker consistency than it was at that stage.
Note: Reducing the syrup to one third the amount will yield you pomegranate molasses.Note: For making a pom syrup that is to be used for savory purpose, use sour pomegranates and for desserts, use sweeter variety of pomegranates.
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