Piña de Fuego Syrup

Piña de Fuego is built on contrast—sweet, charred pineapple layered with the deep, molasses notes of demerara sugar and finished with a controlled hit of habanero heat. Grilling the fruit first brings a subtle smokiness that cuts through the sweetness, while the pepper infuses just enough warmth to linger without overpowering. The result is a syrup that’s bold but balanced, where caramelized sugar, bright fruit, and slow-building heat come together in a clean, cohesive finish.

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Category: THIRST

Cuisine: Global

Course: Drinks

Keyword: Demerara, Habanero, Pineapple, Simple Syrup

Prep: 30

Cook: 15

Steep Time: 30

Total: 1 15

Servings: servings

Calories: 110kcal

Author: TastyDaddy

Equipment

Ingredients

3 cups water (filtered)
3 cups demerara
3 cups pineapple (char-grilled chunks)
1 large habanero pepper (sliced, seeds and pith removed)

Instructions

Infusion Ingredient Prep

Throughly wash and dry a 2 lb. pineapple and 1 large habanero pepper (or 2 small peppers).
Cut top off pineapple; use pineapple corer/slicer to remove core and cut into rings.
Cut open habanero pepper and remove seeds and piths (a pepper's strongest heat is always in these parts, especially the pith); cut pepper into slices and set aside.

TIP: ALWAYS put on a pair of food safe, disposable gloves when handling any hot pepper, regardless of type. If you do not have gloves, just be sure not to touch any other part of your body, especially eyes and softer membranes—or your Piña de Fuego could painfully become Pinga de Fuego!

It's also important that you wash your hands in COLD water and soap. Washing your hands in hot water will open your pores and potentially allow the capsaicin oil into your pores, which can burn and cause blistering.

Grilling Pineapple Outdoors

If you do not have an outdoor gas or charcoal grill, skip to step about Grilling Pineapple Indoors.
If you have an outdoor grill, load pineapple rings into a grill basket and place on grill until rings have a nice char from the flames; let basket cool before removing pineapple rings.

Grilling Pineapple Indoors

If you do not have an outdoor gas or charcoal grill, you can always use a stovetop grill pan to grill your pineapple rings. However, please note that it will not produce the same char as grilling them over an open flame, which will alter the final flavor profile slightly.

Syrup Prep

Chop charred pineapple until you have approximately 3 cups.
Pour 3 cups demerara sugar into 6-cup stockpot.
Add 3 cups pineapple into stockpot and muddle the pineapple into the sugar until a thick, coarse paste forms.
Add 3 cups water (filtered) into stockpot and stir to combine.

TIP: Instead of muddling, you can combine the water and charred pineapple chunks into a blender until well blended and pour into the stockpot over sugar; however, I have found that muddling/infusing the flavors into the sugar creates a better flavor.

Cooking

Heat ingredients in the stockpot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved.
Once the sugar is dissolved, add the sliced habanero.
Increase heat and bring to a boil for 5-7 minutes.
Remove from heat let ingredients steep for at least 30 minutes as it cools.

TIP: Periodically taste the syrup to check the heat level of the habanero as it steeps; remove habanero slices from the stockpot once you are happy with the heat level and allow syrup to cool completely.

Straining

Place mesh strainer over large pot or bowl (deeper than the depth of the strainer so that the liquid clears the bottom of the strainer).
Slowly pour contents of simmered liquid into strainer. Using muddler, gently press as much liquid from the contents of the strainer as possible (without damaging your strainer from the pressure).

Storing

Pour syrup into glass swing-top bottle (or jar if you don't have a bottle) and store at least 4 hours in the fridge to cool. Overnight cooling is even better.

Nutrition