POMEGRANATES

[rgruby]

OK,

'Tis the season, at least 'round here.

I love the sweet & sour flavour combo, but am not really comfortable with using them. For example, what is the best way to clean them. I've heard that opening themup underwater works - the seeds float and the veins sink - or vice versa, and the juice doesn't squirt all over the place. Haven't tried this out yet though.

So any tips on prepping, cooking etc. would be appreciated. And, history too. I don't even know where these are originally from. I'm guessing old world - maybe middle east/ persia? Am I even in the ballpark??

Thanks,

Geoff Ruby

[Janice]

Nigella Lawson's method for preparing them works for me - cut in half, hold over a bowl cut side down, and whack hard with a wooden spoon to release the seeds. Good for getting rid of your frustrations too....

[Episure]

Cut them into quarters and flex each segment out, most seeds will pop out for the rest use your fingers.

I make guinea fowl using Pomegranate juice.

[Janice]

For light dessert, peeled and sliced oranges, pomegranate seeds, a sprinkling of orange flower water and some sugar if the oranges need it.

[schneich]

pull out the seeds into sieve, stir with a soup ladle to get the good stuff out

(same thing with passionfruit)

cheers

t.

[Suzanne F]

In Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables, Elizabeth Schneider says:

To extract [the arils] from their rubbery white chambers, cut out the blossom end and some pith, taking care not to pierce the red within.  Score the skin in quarters, then break the fruit gently, following the lines. (Do not cut, or juices will spurt.)  Bend back the rind and pull out the seeds.  If the operation is performed in a bowl of water, as food writer Paula Wolfert advises, the job is easier and neater: The pith all floats, and the cleaned fruit sinks.

I've followed these instructions, and they work very well.

Schneider also says that Persia is the most likely origin, although no one knows for sure.

[Jason Perlow]

My understanding is they originate from Israel, which is why they have been featured on coins from there since pre-Christian times thru modern times.

http://members.verizon.net/vze3xycv/Jerusa...tm#pomegranates

As I recall they are STILL on the 5 agorot coin.

[Malawry]

Has anybody tried the new pomegranate juice on the market?

[hillbill]

Any clues as to how to pick a good or sweeter one (or do they have to ripen or????) They all looked the same to me, I chose one, it really wasn't very sweet, sort of bitter, I didn't understand what the appeal was, especially considering the effort to payoff ratio. I didn't eat any of the white stuff (pith?)

[bigwino]

Interesting thread. I always feel compelled to buy a pomegranate when the season arrives. Then it sits around for a while and I get to working on it and eating the seeds and ..... I'm always underwhelmed. Perhaps I'm picking a bad one? I wouldn't know how to differentiate.

I've had the POM juice. It's good, but expensive. I think they're $3.00 each at my supermarket. They're not that good!

[Jason Perlow]

Nice peice on Pomegranates (although this writer says they originate from Iran)

http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/Creative...omegranate.html

[Toliver]

Has anybody tried the new pomegranate juice on the market?

While I haven't had the Pom juice that's being sold, I have had it from my local farmer's market. In fact, they also make fresh pomegranate-apple juice that tastes great.

[Rachel Perlow]

My main picking criterion for pmegranates is to pick one that is heavy for its size. Can't tell if it's sweet, but at least it won't be dried out.

[Batgrrrl]

I love them as part of a fruit salad--paired with sweet melons, like cantelope, they are a wonderful contrast in color, taste, and texture.

Thanks, Jason, for posting some of the symbolic connotations--I was going to bring the Greek myth up if nobody raised it yet. It's one of my favorite stories from that tradition. The pomegranate functions somewhat similarly to the apple in the garden of Eden in the biblical story--before Persephone is kidnapped by Hades and eats the fruit, the earth is basically in a perpetual summer; her eating it (and most retellings talk about how tempting the fruit is, more than him tricking her necessarily) causes the seasons, and hence the un-Edenic periods of barrenness and darkness.

I would think they would make a wonderful sauce for duck--the tart paired with the rich! Wait, that sounds like a celebrity marriage I just read about. Anyway, just do a simple reduction of red wine and the seeds, macerated a bit to split them, strain, add butter off heat at the end, and pour over duck. Sprinkle a few fresh seeds over for garnish.

Mmm, that sounds good--now I'm going to have to try that!

Batgrrrl

[cheftoad]

Check out this link before you clean them next time.

pomegranate council

We are currently serving duck breast with pomegranate-ginger relish.

[hillbill]

Check out this link before you clean them next time.

pomegranate council

Here's a corrected link (the above one has too many //)

No Mess

Thank you.

When I searched, I came up with this page:

Opening and eating (not as detailed) from the company that's selling POM juice.

[cheftoad]

Thanks for the correction.

[tigerwoman]

Check out this link before you clean them next time.

pomegranate council

Here's a corrected link (the above one has too many //)

No Mess

Thank you.

When I searched, I came up with this page:

Opening and eating (not as detailed) from the company that's selling POM juice.

that's a nice site - fun and interesting recipes and pomegranate facts

everything you always wanted to know about pomegranates but were afraid to ask...

they even talk about the spit vs. swallow issue - no get your minds out of the gutter...

[fifi]

Well, after all these years I now know about what to do about the seeds.

I have to get back into these things. They are soooooo pretty!

[tigerwoman]

Funny enough I had a pomegranate sitting on the counter for the last few days - so after reading this post, seeing Suzanne's quoted instructions and going to the website and actually getting a visual I decided to try the new found technique

very cool - this is the first time I've ever gotten into a pomegranate without a huge red mess. Unfortunately it was a fair to mediocre pomegranate - but now I know to look for a thin skinned beauty next time...

This fruit has a lot of inuendo going for it...

[KarenS]

A man from Iran taught me his method a long time ago. Quarter the fruit and hold over a bowl. Tap the skin side firmly with a soup spoon. Pomegranate juice (already juiced) is a blessing to a Pastry Chef! My new cheesecake on Saturday is caramel and pear with an oat-cookie (crisp) crust, whipped cream, and pomegranate compote (people in Hawaii LOVE cheesecake). I always have one, but every couple of months I change it.

[KarenS]

Oh, I almost forgot- here is a fun item from my Political Science degree. There is much speculation that the story of Adam and Eve refers to a pomegranate, and not an apple. The middle east has never really been apple country. And yes, I agree with A Waters that eating is political. People say,"you have a BA in Poli Sci- what does that have to do with food?" I say everything; history, political theory, formation of societies, class structure, etc... (all of this is food history too!). I feel that I was well prepared for a food career!