Grapeade

‘When life gives you sour grapes, make Grape-ade!’

I got stuck with a big box of sour grapes from one of my recent online grocery orders. Nobody was ready to eat them, won’t blame them, they were extremely sour!

So, turned them into this refreshing drink – Grapeade, keeping in line with the ever popular lemonade.

Extracted juice from the grapes and added equal amount of water and some simple syrup. You can also replace simple syrup with palm sugar, honey or any sweetener of your choice. Since the grapes were already sour, didn’t have to add any lemon to it. Sweet & sour taste was already balanced naturally. If you are making with sweet grapes, cut down on the amount of sweetener and add a little lemon juice.

To make simple syrup, add 1 part sugar to 1 part water in a saucepan and heat on medium-low flame until sugar dissolves completely. It doesn’t need any kind of string formation. Cool down to room temperature before using.

Juices, mocktails and buttermilk are my family’s saviour in this scorching heat! How are you keeping cool this summer? Here are a few refreshing coolers, juices and mocktails to get you through the summer months:

  1. Aam Panna
  2. Bael Sharbat/ Baelada Hannina Panaka/ Wood Apple Juice
  3. Badam Milk
  4. Frooti – Mango Drink
  5. Ganga-Jamuna
  6. Grapefruit-Carrot-Ginger Juice
  7. Green Lady
  8. Green Smoothie
  9. Imli ka Amlana
  10. Kiwi Cooler
  11. Pomegranate Slush
  12. Ruby Cola
  13. Thandai
  14. Watermelon-Cilantro Drink
  15. Beetroot Lassi – Beetroot Buttermilk
  16. Chocolate Lassi
  17. Dry Fruits Lassi
  18. Mango Lassi
  19. Jamun Virgin Mojito
  20. Plum Virgin Mojito
  21. Strawberry Virgin Mojito
  22. Watermelon Virgin Mojito
  23. Lemon-Mint Iced Tea
  24. Strawberry Iced Tea
  25. Jamun/ Black plum shots
  26. Cherry lemonade
  27. Mango Milkshake
  28. Oreo Milkshake
  29. Oreo Chocolate Milkshake
  30. Ragi Milkshake
  31. Rose Milk – includes Rose syrup recipe
  32. Strawberry Milkshake
  33. Blue Lagoon Mocktail
  34. Sparkling Pomegranate Mocktail

Grapeade Recipe

Makes 1 glass
1 Cup = 240 ml

Ingredients:

  • Grape juice – 1/2 cup (1 cup grapes approx.)
  • Water – 1/2 cup
  • Simple syrup – 1 tbsp

Instructions:

  1. Rinse grapes very well and pat then dry with a kitchen towel.
  2. Using a juicer, extract juice from grapes. If juicer is unavailable, blend to a fine paste in a blender and strain using a soup strainer and discard the grapes skin left in it.
  3. In a mixing bowl, add sour grape juice, water, and simple syrup. (If using sweet grapes; add a teaspoon of lemon juice.) Mix well. To get the most benefit of vitamin C in grapes, serve immediately with a few ice cubes. Enjoy!

Variation:

For a touch of Indian flavour, add a pinch of black salt, a pinch of chaat masala and a few roughly torn mint leaves.

If you happen to try this Grapeade Recipe; leave a comment, let me know how it turned out. Use in your Instagram posts – #theredplatechroniclesbymeenadanti and tag @theredplatechronicles . To see more of my work, follow me on

Have a great day!
Love
M❤️

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