Pomegranate Pancake Syrup...

I suppose technically this is more of a sauce then a syrup, but I think syrup sounds better, and I generally think of sauces as being savory and syrups as being sweet, and this sauce definitely falls into the later category.

Simmering on the Stove

I first made this sauce over a year ago, when we had an abundance of pomegranates in the house, and my waffle iron was still a novelty item. I was making waffles for breakfast once or twice a week, and when you eat that many waffles you soon grow tired of the traditional toppings. Or at least I did. Since I love pomegranate in all of it’s incarnations - whole, juice, as a flavoring for anything, etc.. - I thought why not as a syrup? There are all kinds of other fruity syrups out there but I hadn’t ever seen pomegranate syrup, and pomegranates are so delicious!

Finished Product

So after a bit of thought, some playing around and tweaking I came up with this recipe. It’s very simple, without too many ingredients, but it is very satisfying and tastes wonderful on either waffles or pancakes. It’s definitely made it onto my husbands list of favorite breakfast toppings, and I’ve made it several more times since that initial time. I hope you enjoy it too!

Pomegranate Pancake Syrup

3/4 C Pomegranate Arils (roughly 1 ½ pomegranates)
3/4 - 1C Water.
1tbsp lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp Organic Cornstarch
1/3 C Brown Sugar (or to taste)

- Blend Pomegranate Arils and water on high in highspeed blender for 30-90 seconds until very smooth. Start out with lesser amount and increase to get the desired consistency, you want the mixture to be soupy not thick.

- Strain the contents of the blender through a cheesecloth or very fine metal sieve. To remove the juice from the pulp. If using a vitamix there might not be that much pulp left that needs to be discarded.

- Next pour the liquid into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the lemon juice and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer. Add in Cornstarch whisking frequently until dissolved, and the sauce has thickened. Let simmer and continue to whisk periodically for about 15-20 minutes until the syrup has thickened and begins to smell heavenly.

- Once thickened test for consistency and flavor. If not sweet enough for you then add a bit more sugar to taste. Keep in mind that this sauce doesn’t get as thick as commercial syrup, if you want you can add a bit more cornstarch to thicken further, but it’s delicious as is.

- Serve warm over your choice of pancakes or waffles. Almost any traditional or fruit/nut combination would work, but my personal favorite to accompany this syrup is blueberry pancakes or blueberry waffles, and that’s what I have pictured here. Blueberry and pomegranate are a match made in heaven and if you really want to amp up the flavor add a sprinkling of fresh blueberries to your plate, and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Delicious! Cherries are another great choice, particularly sauteed or baked cherries, yum!