Post #756374 by mikehooker on Wed, Dec 23, 2015 12:29 PM

Revisiting a couple old posts on this thread....

On 2015-06-22 09:31, Scaramouch wrote:

My first time making passionfruit syrup this weekend. I used Frozen Chiquita Passion Fruit Pulp:

1:1:1 - sugar:water:pulp by weight. Half the pulp mixed in while the sugar dissolved, half added afterwards off the heat.

The couple of batches of PF syrup I've made were done with equal parts sugar, water and pulp by volume, not weight. I'd be curious to try it the other way. Not sure if that will yield a sweeter syrup, a thicker consitency, or what the differences will be. Since I don't have a kitchen scale, does anyone know what the approximate measurements of each would equate to in ounces if doing equal parts by weight?

On 2015-07-22 12:00, AceExplorer wrote:

I spiked each 16oz bottle with two ounces of Everclear, and it's a great syrup life extender.

Ace, I'm still trying to find the right balance of PGA to syrup that allows maximum shelf life without effecting the flavor of the syrup. I only put 1/2 oz Everclear in my first batch and it did not effect the flavor at all. I used it up so quickly that shelf life was not an issue that time. My second batch I ended up tossing because I upped the Everclear to 2 oz as you suggested and it was very noticeable. I realized too late that my batch of passion fruit may have only been 14 oz (not 16), so that may have been the issue. I should have cut the PGA back a tad but still think 2 oz is too heavy.

When I do other syrups like sugar or cinnamon I don't bother to spike them cuz I go through them much quicker and they seem more stable, but I have a bottle of Grenadine from many months ago that is still mold-free and tastes just fine. I'm guessing I added one oz PGA to that one which makes me think 1-1.5 oz per 16 oz syrup is the safest bet to maintain freshness and the flavor of the syrup.

On 2015-07-22 11:56, AceExplorer wrote:

I'm looking forward to your comparisons with Aunty Lilikoi, BG Reynolds, and your home-made syrup. Theoretically fresher homemade is better, but you never know. The Aunty Lilikoi gets good reviews here.

I went through my bottle of Aunty Lilikoi very quickly. Unfortunately I never did a side by side comparison of it with BG or homemade but I must say it's a quality product. The sweetness is more subtle and it does not dominate drinks like Monin does. Geez, I used Monin the other night cuz it was all I had and my palate just can't handle it anymore. Maybe cutting the called for proportion in half will do the trick but I no longer feel the need to keep that stuff on hand. I used to put it in batches of Rum Barrels for parties since it was cheap but homemade is actually cheaper and so much better.

Oddly though, I don't think I've made a rum barrel with homemade passion fruit yet. I did make one last week with Lilikoi and it was one of the best I've ever had. I'm thinking as far as "commercial" syrup is concerned, Lilikoi is probably the best option. I need to wrangle another bottle to compare it with homemade and see if it's actually worth the expense but I'm guessing homemade is ultimately the way to go.

On 2015-09-16 12:26, Hurricane Hayward wrote:

FYI, I currently make my homemade syrup with 2 cups of organic sugar, 1 cup of purified water and 1/2 cup of thawed passion fruit pulp. I bring it to almost a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer and let it reduce for at least 10 minutes. I then let it steep for several hours before bottling and refrigerating. I like my syrup on the sweet side, and of course this works best in Mai-Kai cocktails.

It always seems to keep its syrupy consistency for quite a while with no additives.

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2015-09-16 12:27 ]

How long is quite a while? Do you get a couple months without additives?