Homemade grenadine recipe

Look, you'll never have to buy the corn syrup with red food coloring again. Making your own grenadine at home is ridiculously easy, and infinitely tastier than the stuff at the store.

At its base, all that real grenadine syrup is is equal amounts sugar and pomegranate juice. That's it. Some recipes call for orange blossom water, some for pomegranate molasses, some for lemon juice, the list is long. But really, all you have to do is mix together equal amounts of sugar and pomegranate juice and bring it to a boil and BAM, grenadine.

Now, of course I like to complicate things, so here's my personal take on it.

• Zest of one clementine (we've got these around a lot more often than oranges)
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (I actually used light muscovado sugar, because I like molasses.  YMMV.)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (I buy a big bottle and freeze what I don't use. Still have to manage to freeze it in smaller batches. I'll get there.)

Zest the clementine.

Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil.

Strain through a very fine sieve into a bottle or jar. It'll keep about a month in the fridge; if you want it to last longer add half a shot of high-proof vodka (but then you probably shouldn't use it in a Shirley Temple as I'm going to in the next week).