Blood Orange Simple Syrup

Shockingly bright, citrusy, and delicious, this Blood Orange Simple Syrup is the perfect sweetener for colorful cocktails and mocktails. Plus, it is easily adapted to be sugar-free!

Blood Oranges

What is a blood orange? As you might have guessed, it is a variety of sweet orange! The flesh of this particular orange is so deep and blood-like in color because of the presence of anthocyanins, the same pigment found in blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, red cabbage, red onions, and other blue-ish purple-ish fruits and vegetables.

I'm sure the first person to ever cut into this type of orange was shocked!

Blood oranges are sweeter than navel oranges and have berry-like flavor notes. They are a beautiful addition to salads, fruit platters, and drinks.

These oranges contribute their color to a gorgeous, simple syrup. Use it in cocktails and mocktails. Simple syrups are basically liquid sweeteners; simply sugar and water boiled together.

I have been making sugar-free simple syrups lately that are equally delicious. It's easy to sub in monkfruit with allulose (my favorite kind of alternative sweetener) for granulated sugar.

Lessons Learned

• Adding a strip of peel to the syrup as it cooks brings extra flavor through the citrus oils. Be sure to use only the colored part of the peel and not the bitter white pith.
• To get jars squeaky clean, add boiling water to a clean mason jar and let sit for 15 minutes. Dump out the hot water and let the jar dry upside down.
• This simple syrup is delicious in mocktails like Blood Orange Vanilla Spritzer and Blood Orange Cosmo-Not.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Coffee Copycat for the homemade blood orange syrup recipe, which I adapted.

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