The Ruby Red
This ruby red grapefruit drink is delightfully tart, thanks to fresh grapefruit juice and bitters. The problem with most mocktails, I have found, is they are loaded with added sugars. Most rely on sugar-fortified juices, simple syrup, and products like ginger beer to make up for the alcohol. To balance the sour flavors in this drink, I turned to a simple syrup made with a non-nutritive sweetener—monkfruit—instead of sugar.
A better way to sweeten drinks
Monkfruit sweetener is a natural product made from the dried and pulverized flesh of the monk fruit. Like other natural non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), such as stevia, it provides zero calories. While studies are somewhat limited, monkfruit sweetener doesn’t seem to be harmful to metabolic health. In other words, it doesn’t hit the bloodstream like sugar, eliciting a glucose spike and insulin response.
Avoid artificial sweeteners in drinks and food
I recommend avoiding all artificial non-nutritive sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose, in your brain-healthy diet. Studies have shown they are detrimental to the gut microbiome, and can even increase the risk of dementia and stroke. They are proven to be poor for metabolic health, too, and can increase cravings for sweet foods.
Prep Time | 10 minutes |
Servings |
drinks
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- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup monkfruit sweetener
- ¾ cup fresh grapefruit juice preferably ruby red
- 1 teaspoon bitters such as Angostura
- Grapefruit wedges for serving
- Coarse sugar for rimming the glasses (optional)
- pomegranate arils for serving (optional)
Ingredients
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- Warm the water and monkfruit sweetener in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring often until dissolved. Do not let it come to a boil. It's normal for it not to be thick like simple syrup made from sugar. Pour into a glass jar and let cool at room temperature. (Do not refrigerate or the monk fruit will crystallize.)
- Place a small amount of sugar on a plate (if using), and rub a grapefruit wedge around the rim of each glass. Coat the rim with sugar and fill the glass with ice.
- Stir together the grapefruit juice, ¼ cup of the monk fruit simple syrup, and the bitters in a measuring cup. Divide between the glasses and top with a grapefruit wedge and pomegranate arils (if using).
You'll have about 2/3 cup monkfruit syrup, enough for a triple batch. If you store monkfruit syrup on its own (unmixed) in the fridge, it will crystallize. It stores well mixed into other liquids, though.
I recommend mixing your leftover syrup with other foods you want to sweeten before storing. Add it to unsweetened nut milk, overnight oats, chia seed pudding, or another batch of Ruby Red mixers.
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