Do you use grenadine to sweeten up your drinks and cocktails?
No matter you’re a young person or classy adult, adding a little grenadine to your drink is always a great pleasure.
You can use it to throw in a little color or just pour it in to add some sweetness for your everyday drink.
So many people treat grenadine as a staple for any of their drinks whether they’re alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
However, does Grenadine need to be refrigerated is the question that many people struggle with.
So, in this brief guide, we will shed light on the brilliant ingredient and tell you all about how grenadine adds color to our drinking habits and of course about its refrigeration!
What is Grenadine Made Of?
Grenadine is a very popular and commonly used red syrup made of pomegranate juice and sugar.
It is a non-alcoholic bar syrup, which can be characterized distinctly by a sharp, sweet cherry-resembling flavor and a deep blood-red color.
It is a very common ingredient for preparing cocktails and drinks, used primarily for giving out its signature flavor finishing and for imparting the drinks with its markedly visible red or pink tint.
The term grenadine takes roots from the French word grenade, which literally means pomegranate.
This is because grenadine was originally prepared using actual pomegranate extracts.
How to Store Grenadine?
Storing grenadine is quite simple.
If your grenadine is still unopened then it is best that you store it in a place that is as distant from sunlight and heat as possible, cold and free from moisture like a pantry or a kitchen cabinet.
The outside environment is least likely to affect grenadine as long as it is unopened.
However, once you open the bottle and use it, you will have to seal it properly to keep it from air exposure and store it in a refrigerator in order to retain its taste and preserve the color for longer.
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How Long Does Grenadine Last?
Grenadine is non-alcoholic and it doesn’t age as well as alcohol but surprisingly, it does last quite a long time.
Normally, every bottle comes with a best-before date during which the product retains highest possible quality.
However, you should keep in mind that this date doesn’t actually represent an accurate estimate of when the grenadine will cease to be of good quality for consumption.
The rule of thumb when it comes to grenadine, is that if it is made of natural ingredients, its quality will deteriorate faster than if its ingredients are artificially produced and processed.
How to Tell If Grenadine Is Bad?
If you want to know whether your grenadine is bad or not, all you have to do is taste or smell it.
If the odor or taste is off, then it’s probably a good idea to get rid of it.
Naturally, when grenadine will get bad, you will definitely know because of a rancid odor that it imparts.
Apart from that, you will also notice some saturated sugar lumps floating in the liquid.
Usually, the sugar in grenadine and the acidity of pomegranate juice is enough to keep it preserved because both of these ingredients are natural preservatives.
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Does Grenadine Need to be Refrigerated?
Grenadine might or might not need to be refrigerated.
It depends a lot on whether or not the syrup bottle is opened.
But Should you refrigerate grenadine after opening?
An opened syrup bottle will probably remain at optimum quality more if it’s in a fridge rather than in a regular pantry or liquor cabinet.
One more thing that you must know is that if the syrup you bought was of high-quality actual fruit extracts then maintaining its flavor after opening the bottle is difficult.
Now days, manufacturers mostly prepare Grenadine using simple high fructose corn syrups and other cheap artificial flavors that preserve for longer even if opened.
Do you know how long will grenadine keep in the refrigerator?
Grenadine will usually stay refrigerated for months or even years if you keep it stored without opening the seal or ever using it.
An opened grenadine bottle will stay fresh for about 4 to 6 months in the fridge before going bad.
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Can You Use Expired Grenadine?
Grenadine is not made of alcohol so it doesn’t last that longer.
It does have an expiration or best-by date but that does not necessarily mean that the product might actually expire beyond it.
If you do not open the bottle and keep it sealed beyond its expiration or best-before date, it can even possibly last for several months too.
If you have opened it then it should retain quality for around 6 months if refrigerated.
However, these time periods are just roughly estimated. They syrup will most likely last beyond these periods of time, even if the quality is not perfect.
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Can You Freeze Grenadine?
Yes, it is quite possible to freeze up the grenadine.
This will increase its preserved life and allow you to enjoy it for a longer time.
If you store your grenadine in a refrigerator, its estimated consumable life will be around a month or so.
Compared to that, if you freeze it then its life span increases further and it retains freshness for a much longer period of time.
One thing that is pointed out by many culinary experts and reviews by customers is that if grenadine is frozen up completely for weeks then it is possible for it to lose freshness.
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Can You Heat Up Grenadine?
Grenadine is a mixture of two main ingredients: sugar and pomegranate juice.
They are best served cold for drinking but you can heat it up to pasteurize it too.
If your grenadine is made from natural ingredients then it will act almost the same as pomegranate juice.
Heating grenadine up to a certain temperature will not only help you eliminate any harmful pathogens but also help you increase the shelf life of the batch you prepared.
How Long is Unopened Grenadine Good For and How Long is Grenadine Good for After Opening?
It is quite unlikely of Grenadine to get spoiled in terms of food safety.
Sugar is an integral ingredient of Grenadine and it helps preserve it for a long time so you can store it safely.
Unopened Grenadine can last for as long as half a year beyond the mentioned date of expiration outside in a pantry while refrigerated ones usually for more than a year.
These are only tight estimates and can fall short when it comes to its real life.
On the other hand, opened Grenadine is good for consumption for around a couple of months outside and for 4-6 months in a refrigerator.
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How Long Does Homemade Grenadine Last?
Homemade grenadine usually lasts for around three or four weeks because it has a shorter shelf life than grenadine made commercially and acquired from the markets.
The store-bought grenadine has a longer life because it contains many preservatives, which help it stay consumable and stable for long.
You might also need to make slight adjustments in your homemade grenadine recipes in order to enjoy it for a longer time.
You can do so by using small amounts of vodka in the recipe.
Vodka acts as a preservative and can increase the shelf life of your made-at-home grenadine.
Related Video: How to Make Homemade Grenadine from Scratch?
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