It is pomegranate season! I always get excited when I see them! It is like Mother Nature’s last colorful gift as the great grey of Fall is upon us! They are big, they are juicy and if you are lucky and are hurrying, you can get 2 for $6! But don’t worry, you can now buy pomegranate juice almost all year around! That’s globalization for you!
The first time I tasted pomegranate (without even knowing it) was in a popular cold drink that is prepared for kids called “Grenadine”. Years later, I found out that ‘grenade’ was French word for pomegranate (duh!) As a kid, my parents didn’t buy sodas, so we made our own mocktails! We basically had a choice between a bright red drink (grenadine) or a green drink, called ‘diabolo menthe’. You guessed it, made with mint syrup.
I never made the connection with pomegranate fruit because they didn’t grow where we lived. We have palm trees, glorious lemons, oranges, olive trees and much more but no pomegranate trees. They abound further South in Spain, northern Africa, the Middle East, India, Turkey. In the US, they grow in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. They need a hot and dry climate.
Health benefits of pomegranates
Like most red fruit and vegetables, pomegranates are high in iron. So they are great for our blood. They are potent anti-oxidants that reduce inflammation, rich in fiber, and flavonoids. They are gorged with sunlight!
How to extract pomegranate seeds
For years, this was a whole process. I made sure to wear something black or better, go alfresco from the waist up! Just opening the fruit tends to shoot red liquid in all directions! Then someone showed me a simple but efficient way to do this with very little mess. Love them shortcuts!
First you score around the stem area to remove the top part. Then you cut out the little hard plug and any white membrane.
If you have cut through deep enough, you should be able to see red and white sections from the top. With a sharp knife, score from top to bottom through the skin where the white sections are held together. There can be anywhere from 4 to 6. Scoring 4 times usually suffices.
Take a large bowl. Find something like a thin rolling pin or a glass bottle.
Place the fruit with the cuts facing down. Start hitting the fruit, moving from one side to the other and top to bottom. You will be surprised to see most seeds being neatly ejected in the process. No more having to push out and manually dislodge individual seeds! This being said, no matter how careful I am, a few seeds will inevitably escape the bowl, fly off the counter and roll on the floor! So you might want to check the floor when you are done!
Keep the peel as you will be using it for making tea.
Best way to juice pomegranate seeds?
I have tried using the blender but unless I used 3-4 large ones, all I did was scattered them in the container. Then pour the puree into a sieve or cheesecloth and squeeze as much liquid as possible.
Don’t skip this step because you don’t want a mouthful of crushed up seeds! Then I had to rinse it well. I found an easier and better way. Place all the seeds in a sealed plastic bag and use the same rolling pin or bottle to crush the seeds!
It only takes a few seconds to go over them in multiple directions to release all the good juices. Make a small cut in one of the corners and pour away making sure that no flesh gets through or pour through a fine sieve. Throw the pulp in the compost, et voila, you are done! No messy board or hands! One large pomegranate will produce 3/4 to 1 cup of juice.
Pomegranate syrup
I talked about grenadine earlier, but let’s be honest, the commercial version of what can be made naturally with the fruit, has red dye and a lot of sugar added to it! For a long time, I thought that maple syrup was my favorite. Maybe because we didn’t have it growing up (Canada is too far!). That was until I tasted pomegranate and date syrup! What an amazing addition to pancakes, French toasts, and waffles! It is a great way to make use of these gorgeous plump seeds (also called arils). It is so concentrated that only a few drops are needed!
So you are basically making a pomegranate juice reduction. That’s what creates the amazing flavor! The finished product resembles more honey than syrup.
Add 2.5 cups fresh or store-bought pomegranate juice, 1 1/2 cup sugar (raw cane, brown or white) and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for an hour, and stir every 5 minutes until the liquid starts to thicken and stick to the spoon. Put on a nice movie, and be patient. Nothing happens for the first +50 minutes. Absolutely nada! The most boring movie ever! The liquid will shrink down a little but the action comes at the very end. So make sure to have your glass containers clean and ready.
What you are looking for is for a coating to form on your spoon. When this happens, you are pretty much done. Turn off the heat, scoop out some of the foam and pour into your glass containers. It will be super hot so be careful when pouring. You might also want to fill the pan with hot water before the syrup hardens for ease of cleaning. When the syrup is cool to the touch close the lid.
Pomegranate face treatment
For this recipe, you will use the whole fruit and some oil.
Heat up and stir to release the juice. Do this for about 10 minutes.
Now it is time to add 4 Tbsp of coconut oil (regular or refined) and continue to simmer and stir for another 10-15 minutes. The coconut oil will foam in some areas, that’s normal. Keep stirring to make sure that the pulp doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. It will start to darken. When most of the juice has been absorbed in the oil, turn off the heat and remove from the stove.
All you need to do is pour everything through a metal sieve or a nut bag. Squeeze the pulp to extract the oil into a small bowl. Use a spatula or latex gloves so that you don’t burn your fingers!
Pour into a small glass container with a lid.
Let it cool down before using it. The oil will firm up making it more easy to apply.
Remember, a little goes a long way.
You now have your own serum you can use daily to firm up your face neck and hands!
Pomegranate salad dressing
Perfect for most holiday occasions, this beautiful dressing goes great with spinach, arugula, green apples, berries or even root salads! But I have also used it on avocado toast, baked potatoes, sandwiches and more. I kid you not, this dressing is so good that I can drink it straight up!
In a mason jar, add the following:
1/2 cup of fresh or store bought pomegranate juice
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup oil (olive, avocado)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
small shallot peeled and finely minced
Close the lid and shake well. Taste. Done!
What does it tastes like:
Think layers of flavors like mild sweetness from the fruit and the maple syrup, cut with the acid from the mustard and vinegar, with added tones from the shallots. Did I mention that it has pretty reddish pink hues?
The recipe makes almost a cup so feel free to double it if you need to. It will keep refrigerated for a good week.
Pomegranate tea
Since you have the whole fruit, you now have a use for the peel!
What does pomegranate tea taste like? Mildly sweet with a light note of bitterness. Add a little sweetener or pomegranate syrup to deepen the color of the tea and round the flavors.
What is pomegranate tea good for?
The peel itself is loaded with anti-oxidants so it can remove harmful chemicals from our body. It is naturally anti-bacterial. It is also known to help reduce dandruffs and hair loss.
How to make it
You will need to wash the peel under warm water to remove any wax residues.
Add 3-5 long peels and a handful of seeds into a pot of filtered water and bring to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add a cup of pomegranate juice, c0over and let the tea steep for another 3-5 minutes. Remove the peel, add a sweetener of your choice, and enjoy!
So now you can make your favorite salad using your freshly made pomegranate dressing. You can also treat yourself to a little facial TLC with a nice skin firming serum. And while you are at it, why don’t you pour yourself a hot cup of pomegranate tea sweetened with, you guessed it, homemade pomegranate syrup. Life is good!
