Introduction
Today I’m some homemade syrup to use as a liquid sweetener. I had accidentally bought some seeded grapes, so I’ll separate them into pulp and juice. Then, I’ll boil down the juice into a syrup, until it’s about the consistency of honey.
This will also work with any storebought or fresh squeezed juice; just boil until all the water has cooked off, and the sweet syrup remains. You can use this in your baking in place of honey or maple syrup to give a slightly fruity tasted to your baked goods.
Separating the Juice
In a food processor, add all your grapes; I had about 780 g. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes. Then, using a fine mesh strainer, strain the liquid into a medium pot, leaving behind the pulp. Scrape the sides of the strainer with a wooden spoon to get as much juice out as possible. I ended up with about 502 g of grape juice, and 206 g of grape pulp (meaning I had about 72 g of loss in the strainer and food processor).
This pulp is all grape skins and seeds, which are both perfectly safe to eat. I would assume that this is where all the nutrition lies, with the fiber of the skin and health fats of the seeds. I’ll mixing this into my morning yougrt; the little bit of crunch mixed in with everything is a very nice texture, plus it adds some mild sweetness. It’s essentially a non-cooked unsweetened jam.
Making the Syrup
In the medium pot over medium heat, bring the juice to a boil. Let it boil with occasional stirring until it has cooked down to a syrup, about 20-30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. I ended up with about 65 g of fruit syrup.
Using the Syrup
Finally, it’s time to use our hard earned sweetener. I’ll be making my Protein Brownie Bars, and use this 65 g (about 3 tbsp) as my sweetener in place of the honey or stevia. I simply just added the sweetener into the batter, blended it in, and baked as normal.
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