Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Orange glow : Orange juice and Grenadine mocktail


I recently came back from my great vacation to Miami and Key West. The temperature was so high, hot and muggy that we drank so many different types of juices and mocktails. Most commonly we would enjoy lemon mojitos (non alcoholic kind) and Pina coladas. There was this place ,a cuban joint close to the place where we stayed. I had an amazing drink there which was not only beautiful but tasted awesome too. The colors in the drink orange and dark pink blended so well..it was truly  a visual treat:) But sadly I was so busy enjoying with my family that I never got around to asking the recipe. It was only the day we were about to leave that it struck to me to ask the recipe but I was pressed for time:(

Today, I am sharing a drink which is as pretty as the drink that I had in Miami but the flavors are slightly different. This drink calls for a combo of orange juice and grenadine syrup. Grenadine syrup is a syrup prepared by heating a mixture of pure pomegranate juice and sugar until it slightly thickens.




Pomegranate as we all know is a nutritious fruit providing abundant amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Folate. It's peel also has amazing health benefits. My  mum would dry the peel completely and store it in an airtight container. Whenever someone in the family would get sick with an upset stomach (diarrhea), she would boil a couple of peels in water and prepare a decoction. Once you drank it, the diarrhea would stop completely.

Now, coming back to the recipe...
This recipe has 3 steps. Step one is preparing frozen cubes out of orange juice. I have use a fancy ice cube try but you can use any ice cube tray you have. Also, I have used freshly squeezed orange juice. Step two, is preparing the Grenadine syrup.Grenadine is a sweet syrup prepared from pomegranates. Although you can use ready made syrup available in the stores, I have made it from scratch. Step three, is the final assembly of the drink.

With summer vacation still going on, I got a lot of help from my little handy helper:)
So lets get started:)

Step one:
Orange juice cubes:
Pour orange juice in ice cube trays. I have used freshly squeezed orange juice in this case.





Step two:
Making Grenadine syrup
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup 100 % pomegranate juice (i used POM brand)
1/4th cup sugar
1 tbsp lime juice

PROCEDURE:
Add sugar to the pomegranate juice. Heat this mixture in a wide skillet (due to the larger surface area of the skillet, water gets evaporated faster). Bring it to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until its slightly thickened (Do not cook for a very long time as it starts to get crystallized).
Turn off the heat and set it aside to cool. Once cooled, add 1 tbsp of lime juice . Store it in a bottle refrigerated. Use as and when needed.



Step three:
Assembling the drink:

INGREDIENTS:
Makes : 1 glass
Orange juice cubes : 6 
Grenadine syrup : 2 tbsp (adjust as per taste)
Club soda or Sparkling water : 6 oz (120 ml)
Mint leaves for garnish
Pomegranate seeds for garnish.

PROCEDURE:
Take a serving glass. Add 4-6 orange juice cubes. Add the soda. Lastly add the grenadine syrup . Lightly mix. Serve garnished with pomegranate seeds and mint leaves.







References:

This post is a part of the Blog Event "MOCKTAILS". Do check out many more mocktail recipes by the talented Culinary Hoppers team.
Anupama (Virgin Pina Colada, Virgin Berry Pina Colada)
Vani (Spring fever mocktail)
Jayashree(Coconut cucumber cooler)
Poornima (Snowy plover)
Padma (Sea Breeze mocktail ,Frozen watermelon Slush)
Piyali (Strawberry Italian cream soda mocktail)
Swati (Cantalope fizz with ginger and mint)

25 comments:

  1. Fabulous recipe! I love the orange juice ice cubes, funnily enough, we freeze our freshly made grenadine to use in drinks for the kids, they love seeing the red dissolve in the drinks! I've only frozen orange juice as lollies, must ry your ice cube idea!
    And I never knew that about pomegranate peel, really interesting. I wonder if boiling the fresh one will have the same effect?

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  2. Something totally different from the usual mocktails

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  3. Lovely outstanding drink. Liked each step being extremely different and interesting.

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  4. This looks refreshing and cool. Love it :)

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  5. Its the real glow from orange ice-cubes that elevates this drink...excellent share

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  6. Totally loved the glow in the drink as well as the post...I love the prep of grenadine too..all in all perfectly made delicious drink dear :)....Btw...the pomegranate peel benefit is so useful!!

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  7. I am in love with this mock-tail..so beautiful and healthy..Awesome share Shubha!

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  8. Love, love, love it! Amazing looking glasses and such a gorgeous treat! And so much goodness.. thanks for the share Shubha

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  9. Looks so inviting Shubha. It's nice to make the ice cubes of orange juice, lovely share

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  10. Orange ice cubes such a brilliant idea!! Such a thoughtfully executed drink this is. The colors, the flavors so intriguing, so beautiful! I have always wanted to incorporate pomegranate in a drink considering its benefits. Now this is a must try! Wish I could borrow the adorable helper too :) <3

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  11. Simply awesome. I enjoyed this wrote post - the intro and the beautiful shots.

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  12. The Mocktail is a true ode to its name. Totally in love with everything in this post. From your super duper adorable helper to the idea of the orange ice-cubes, to the freshly prepared grenadine syrup, to the final glass of a blushing orange hued mocktail. Saved your Mum's natural antidote for diarrhea. Very useful . Thanks for such a brilliant post.

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  13. Such a fantastic share Shubha, love the idea of orange juice in a cubes. Yummilicious :)

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  14. This orange glow looks absolutely beautiful, refreshing and delicious. Orange cube is a genius idea. And your li'l one is the most adorable helper I have ever seen! :)

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  15. This is simply fab. I love the orange ice cubes. HOW SWEET to include your little helper! love getting the kids to help during their holidays.. And looking fwd to more cocktail recipes. Did you bring back andy Key Limes? Lovely post Shubha!

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    1. Yes I had brought back a few:) Thanks Shana!!

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  16. On top of all that, the way they process the oranges and how they grow non-organic oranges causes most of the vitamin and mineral content of the orange to be lost. Orange Squeezer www.orangejuicer-review.com So you are not really getting the vitamin C the nutrition facts' label assumes you are.

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  17. Fresh juices are a very valuable source of nutrients as well as highly digestible. Juices that have been pasteurized have been subjected to heats as high as 120 degrees, destroying the natural enzymes in the juice. uicers

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  18. Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Thanks Again. Really Great. orange juice

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