Does Grenadine Expire?

October 22, 2006 8:51 PM

Does Grenadine syrup expire?

I have a small bottle of Rose's Grenadine syrup in the fridge. It has been there for at least two years, unopened. It was lounging at the back of the fridge, where I had forgotten about it. There's no expiry date anywhere on the bottle, is it still safe to use in a drink? The ingredients look pretty safe - corn syrup mostly.

posted by Joh to food & drink (12 comments total)

Does it expire - yes. Has your's expired, no (it was refrigerated and unopened).
posted by caddis at 9:04 PM on October 22, 2006

How does it look? Is it still quite runny? What's the colour like? Still super bright red/fuscia? I would think that since it is mainly corn syrup with some colouring, and it has been in the fridge, unopened, all this time, that it might still be ok. Crack it open and smell it, maybe taste a tiny bit and try to determine if it seems off.

Or, toss it and spent the $5 for a new bottle. Your call.
posted by arcticwoman at 9:05 PM on October 22, 2006

If it's not separated or gloppy I'd probably use it. What's the worst that could happen? Mix it with alcohol to kill anything bad. ;-)
posted by tastybrains at 9:08 PM on October 22, 2006

If it has separated or crystalized, you can probably revive it by sitting it in some hot/boiling water. IIRC, there's no actual pomegranate in Rose's Grenadine anymore anyway (sigh).
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:11 PM on October 22, 2006

I found a bottle last week that'd been opened and then left sitting in the pantry for about 5 years. Being a lazy mofo, I used it. I'm still here; no ill effects.
posted by Opposite George at 9:23 PM on October 22, 2006

Grenadine may have a high enough concentration of sugar to prevent bacterial growth (like syrup does, for example).

Either way, an unopened bottle should be fine.
posted by chrisamiller at 9:49 PM on October 22, 2006

As far as I know, it does go bad, but unopened in the fridge, that time would be many years. I know I leave an open bottle with my liquor, and have used it after letting it sit for over a year, so no worries.

Go make yourself a nice pink girly drink :)
posted by cschneid at 10:41 PM on October 22, 2006

My advice is to throw your Rose's Grenadine away, anyway.

You'll be much happier if you make your own simple syrup using fresh pomegranate juice. Here's a straightforward recipe. Really, it's so easy and so much better.

(Bonus hint: throw away your Rose's "Lime Juice" as well.)

Cheers!
posted by trip and a half at 1:27 AM on October 23, 2006

Pomegranate? I thought it was made from grenadilla. Grenadilla is a very round fruit with a scent that is very heavenly and demanding. But when opened, you find almost nothing there but seeds.
posted by Goofyy at 5:50 AM on October 23, 2006

nope grenadilla is a name for passion fruit. Grenadine is supposed to be made from pomegranites but most brands I've seen are mainly artifically flavored which is why is you may get the impression of passion fruit.

The only real grenadine I've been able to find is the Angostura brand. It tastes a lot better than the typical cough-syrup artifical flavor you usually get.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:25 AM on October 23, 2006

A syrup is something that generally has such a high sugar concentration that it can be stored forever without refrigeration. So it won't go "bad" in the food poisoning sense, but over a very long period it might crystalize, and various ingredients (especially flavourings) might settle, break down or evaporate so that it doesn't taste the same as it used to.
posted by randomstriker at 9:39 AM on October 23, 2006

I was disappointed to look at my Rose's Grenadine bottle the other day and see that scourge of cheap American ingredients: high fructose corn syrup. Trip And A Half may have a point.
posted by rolypolyman at 11:21 AM on October 23, 2006