Jarritos Recipe

Combine sugar and water

In a small saucepan combine 2 cups granulated sugar and 1 cup water. Stir briefly to moisten the sugar.

Heat to dissolve

Place the saucepan over medium heat and warm, stirring constantly, until the sugar fully dissolves and the liquid is clear (do not boil vigorously). This will take about 3–5 minutes.

Add corn syrup and acid

Stir in 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (helps prevent crystallization) and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. If using, stir in 1 teaspoon citric acid for a brighter tartness. Remove from heat.

Cool and store

Allow the simple syrup to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a clean bottle or jar, seal, and refrigerate. This concentrate will keep 2–3 weeks refrigerated.

Prepare fruit concentrate or puree

If using fresh fruit, puree about 1½–2 cups of chopped fruit (or softened tamarind) in a blender, then strain if a smoother liquid is desired to yield about 1 cup. If using store-bought fruit concentrate, measure 1 cup.

Infuse or combine with syrup

In a bowl or mixing cup combine 1 cup fruit concentrate/puree with 1 cup of the cooled syrup base. If the flavor benefits from zest/peel (orange, grapefruit, tamarind), add 1 tablespoon peel and gently warm the mixture for 1–2 minutes to help extract oils, then cool and strain out peels.

Adjust color and taste

If desired, add up to 1 teaspoon natural food coloring to obtain the vivid color typical of Jarritos. Taste the flavored syrup and adjust sweetness or acidity: add small amounts of syrup base to sweeten or 1–2 teaspoons lime juice or citric acid to brighten.

Strain and bottle

Strain the flavored syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bottle or jar. Seal and refrigerate. The flavored syrup concentrate will keep 1–2 weeks refrigerated.

Chill glass and sparkling water

Chill your glass/bottle and sparkling water. Jarritos-style drinks are best served very cold.

Measure syrup

For one 12 fl oz bottle/glass, add 3 tablespoons of the flavored syrup concentrate to the bottom of the glass or bottle. (Adjust 2–4 tablespoons to taste; 3 T is a balanced starting point.)

Add ice and sparkling water

Add about 1 cup of ice (or fill the bottle/glass about halfway with ice). Pour 12 fl oz chilled sparkling water over the syrup and ice slowly to retain carbonation.

Stir gently and garnish

Stir gently to combine syrup and sparkling water without losing too much fizz. Garnish with a lime wedge if desired.

Serve

Serve immediately while cold and fizzy.