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The Pomegranate, Punica granatum, is one of the oldest fruits known. It is also one of the healthiest foods on earth. These little ruby red seeds called arils are bursting with flavor, vitamin C, antioxidants and fiber. Don't be intimidated by their gorgeous outer husks. A deep bowl or sink of water makes quick work of separating membrane from aril as these glossy little gems rise to the top. They rise to the top in cooking too!
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I grew up in Indiana farm country. The only knowledge of the pomegranate was the description in the Old Testament, being mentioned 25 times. When we moved to Washington, DC in my early teens, it was into an all Jewish neighborhood. It was September and the fruit I had long read about became real to me. Here in this community, the fruit was revered historically as having exactly 613 arils (seeds) per "apple" and thus the 613 commandments in the torah. I've never counted nor have a clue if this is true, but I can tell you that the arils were every bit as sweet and tangy as I'd imagined from reading. I was hooked ! The seed or arils as they are called contain the juice which people now drink. There's a great trick to releasing these which requires no peeling. Just cut off the top blossom end and score the outside husk so you can break it. Have a bowl of water or sink filled with water ready. Give the thing a twist and presto - the arils will sink to the bottom and the membrane of the fruit will float to the top - only gentle coaxing from your thumbs is necessary. You've now unlocked the treasured jewels ! The arils almost glow; they are transluscent and you can see the white inner seed. That's where all the fiber is. Some people spit the seeds, I chew them up - it's just a matter of personal preference. The burst of flavor you will experience is like no other taste or sensation. Pop a handful of these on a container of yogurt along with a tablespoon or so of the juice....................you'll become addicted! 
If you decide the arils intact are too much for you, then just use a reamer to get the pure juice. Did you know that the original grenadine syrup was actually made from these? Yup! Now, it's some sort of corn syrup concoction that is clearly no good for human consumption. Before I give you a couple favorite recipes, I urge you to think about the health benefits of this gem. Full of antioxidants as in mega amounts, trusted University Hospital studies such as Johns Hopkins give clear evidence of pomegrantes as part of diets that can reduce the causes of especially prostate cancers before they begin. Pomegrantes are a delicious and very worthy fruit. Here's a few ways that we enjoy them: Squash, Apples and Pomegrante Juice - extracted from a recipe at Pom Wonderful including the nutritional info Juice 2 pomegrantes with a reamer. Cut and peel 2 winter squash of your choice in 2" cubes. Cut and keep peel on 4 apples of your choice - I use Granny Smith's. Put all this in a 13 x 9 buttered baking dish. Mix 1/4 cup of light brown sugar with the pomegrante juice and spread over the top of the squash and apples. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Check out the nutrional info on this.....yea, I'll make this all day long. NUTRIENTS PER SERVING
(1 cup):
263 calories
2g protein
61g carbohydrate
4g total fat (2g saturated)
10mg cholesterol
428mg sodium
7g dietary fiber
1730mcg vitamin A RE
38mg vitamin C Pomegranate Syrup or Molasses - there are a zillion recipes on the internet - here's how we do it Take 3 cups of pure pomegrante juice. Put in a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan on medium heat. Stir in 1/3 cup of sugar along with the juice of 1 lemon. Bring to a simmer and then let reduce by at least 50%. Cool and put in container - this will last 3+ months in your frig. Brush this on chicken, fish, lamb, pork prior to roasting/grilling, or just use a spoonful or two in a vineagrette, or drizzle on winter veggies, or, or....you'll figure it out once you taste it! Although we will be "pushing the zone", we plan on planting pomegranate trees on our new homestead - can't keep paying the price for such a nutritious find :) Please be careful when buying the juice to drink - read the labels. Many of these juices contain apple, pear, etc and are not 100% pomegranate juice. Photos courtesy Wikipedia (licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License).
 | I'm a long time DG'er, super merry wife to the greatest guy on this earth, Michael. By day, we're self employed Mortgage Bankers along with my son Andy. By evenings and weekends we're gardeners trying to get the best out of 3 acres that we can.
Andy and DDIL Michelle gave us the greatest gift of all this past year. We hope to inspire our Grandson to have the same love of gardening we do.
I truly hope you'll enjoy the occasional articles I submit and most importantly have fun cooking from your garden or your local farms.
Happy Gardening and Garden Cooking to all!
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Subject: Pomegranates
Posted by elenap (from Miami, FL) on October 12, 2007 at 4:37 PM:I planted some pomegranate seeds 1 - 2 years ago and the plants are growing beautifully, but no blooms yet. Can you grow pomegranates from the seeds of those bought at the grocery store? Are the fruit from the "miniature" ornamental pomegranates edible? I also have one of those plants and the year I fertilized them the fruit were pretty big! ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 12, 2007 at 5:21 PM: Let me do some research for you on this :)
Dea
... Posted by elenap (from Miami, FL) on October 14, 2007 at 10:37 AM: Just found out - Went to our local Adopt-a -Tree program in Dade County, Florida, and they had some people there from the Rare Fruit Council and I was able to ask them - the gentleman who helped me said they take 5 years to produce fruit, so I guess I will have to wait a little longerl... Thank you! ... Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 19, 2007 at 3:13 PM: Dea, just wanted you to know that I tried the water-release trick on the seeds last night, and it sure saves a lot of mess! Thanks! ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 19, 2007 at 4:20 PM: Isn't it great? So glad it worked for you :)
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Subject: Learning new tricks!
Posted by wannadanc (from Olympia, WA) on October 7, 2007 at 10:18 AM:My goodness - until this morning, I had never EVER heard of the water bath for liberating the gems. Whew! When I think of the struggles to get them out of their bondage without squirting red juice on everything in sight, I cannot believe there is a much easier way.
On the other hand - the struggle is rather like other events in life as a hunter-gatherer. I have a friend whose husband won't eat crab unless she shakes it for him. WHAT? That struggle is part of the joy of the experience.
However, I WILL buy a pomegranate this week and I will give it the water bath treatment. Thank you so much!!!!! ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 7, 2007 at 12:35 PM: Glad you like the tip - it works like a charm! Now that is funny - the "struggle" :)
Dea
... Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on October 7, 2007 at 6:59 PM: Sounds like re-filling inkjet cartridges, Wannadanc. ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 7, 2007 at 7:17 PM: Ha!!
... Posted by JaxFlaGardener (from Jacksonville, FL) on October 7, 2007 at 10:55 PM: I sometimes buy pomegranites around Christmastime just because they are so gorgeously bright red inside! And I do enjoy eating them as well.
I have a couple of pomegranite plants that came through the winter last year with no problem (8b/9a Zone). I'm glad to know they are so hardy. I was considering them to be tropical fruit. No flowers nor fruit yet, but they are still young plants.
Thanks for a great article!
Jeremy ... Posted by cactuspatch (from La Luz/Alamogordo, NM) on October 8, 2007 at 7:48 PM: I had never heard of the water bath either. Perfect timing as my pomegranites are just now ripening and I ate my first one today! I always used to spit the seed part, saw on Martha Stewart that they could be eaten so I tried that today. They were quite good.
The birds are eating a lot of my ripe fruits. I would love to pick them and bring inside to ripen. Do you know if they will continue to ripen off the tree? ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 8, 2007 at 8:26 PM: As we've not yet grown them, I don't know the answer. Maybe someone else will chime in?
... Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on October 9, 2007 at 2:53 AM: Sounds like you harvest them before they ripen and they'll ripen in the fridge. This site has good cultural info on them: [HYPERLINK@www.floridata.com]
... Posted by cactuspatch (from La Luz/Alamogordo, NM) on October 9, 2007 at 12:27 PM: Interesting! I asked this question on another forum and someone said they would not ripen after they were picked. I will just have to give it a try. That link really has a lot of good info. We used to always cut them to the ground every winter and according to the article, I can train it to grow as a tree, rather than a shrub like my Dad did his. ... Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on October 9, 2007 at 7:14 PM: I wonder if it varies by variety whether it is herbaceous or woody, like peonies vs. tree peonies. ...
Subject: Thanks ....I love them too!
Posted by chrissy100 (from Sydney
(Australia)) on October 6, 2007 at 10:58 PM:Thanks for the article....the oldest "secret superfood"......I grow them from the beautiful fruit as well ... Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 7, 2007 at 12:54 AM: My grampa used to grow them in New Orleans, and I buy them occasionally here, as they're expensive, but definitely good for you. I like the seeds in a cup of vanilla yogurt. It's good to see an article on them--thanks! ... Posted by BlueGlancer (from Wauchula, FL) on October 7, 2007 at 2:43 AM: Very good article.
I bought 2 plants this past spring. I plan on enjoying pomegranates for years to come. ... Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on October 7, 2007 at 7:16 AM: I just coincidently read an article about the pomegranates, which has been growing in Afghanistan for centuries. It seems in the 1930's a California plant explorer went there and collected samples of various fruits and nuts. His seeds have been saved, propagated and bred into the fruit we eat today. The amazing part was that with the wars, much of Afghanistans fruit and nut trees have been lost and they were able to come to California and recoup these seeds from 70 years ago to replant their crops. I thought that was truly amazing! ( New Yorker Magazine Sept 24 2007, pg 42)
Love them and wish I could grow some here. ( What are the planting zones for this?)
Great article!
This message was edited Oct 7, 2007 6:25 AM ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 7, 2007 at 12:43 PM: Typically zones 7b - 11. Thomas Jefferson was able to grow these at Monticello near Charlottesville. It would most definately be zone pushing here, but our new place has one area that is a microclimate awfully close to 7b.
The couple who really has made an entire market out of this were interviewed several years ago in the NY Times. They have a farm out in Sacramento and are now one of the largest growers in the U.S. One reason I make so much of the molasses is that their extract sells for $29.95 per 5 oz !!!!! I can take a $7.99, 64 oz. pure pomegranate juice bottle from Costco and reduce it to the molasses and come up with 16 oz of it :)
When I make it using the big bottle, I just use the crockpot to reduce it so there's never any worries of me wasting by over-cooking.
Dea
... Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on October 7, 2007 at 2:29 PM: Dea
Wow, I have been collecting the seed from the Monticello gardens (they have a website to order seeds) and didnt know they grew this also. I'm not so far from there and might be able to grow this after all, especially since my zone has changed to 8.
What a great way to economically make your own molasses! Next time I hit Costco I'll get some to try your crockpot method. Thanks for such an informative eye opening piece!
Joyce ... Posted by Raggedyann (from Lawrenceville, GA) on October 7, 2007 at 3:16 PM: I was watching As the World Turns the other day and a bartender told his girlfriend that grenadine was made from pomegranates. I learn a lot from watching soaps! Not! LOL
Hubby bought some last week and I had the duty of cleaning them. I had never tasted them until now. I remember being a teen and picking them after church at a friends house. Now I see what I was missing all those years.... ... Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on October 7, 2007 at 4:16 PM: I can remember getting pomegranates as a kid, and the whole chore of opening them, fighting to get the little gems out, opening a new section and finding hundreds more, and getting totally and completely pink was a ritual we went through every fall. My DH still loves them, and I recently mentioned them in an article of my own, because we know someone who had never eaten one! Thanks Dea, for the water tip, the recipes, and the memories! ... Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on October 7, 2007 at 6:20 PM: Have you ever brought back wonderful memories of childhood!!!!!!!! I loved to eat them back in the 40's and 50's and still do. When I moved out here to the farm, a friend of my brother tried to get me to go into business with him growing them by the acre..............I realize there is much to be said for that..........but I told him i was too old and to find someone else. He did!!!!!!!!!
He is growing them on land he has that used to be part of the King Ranch in deep south Texas. I think they are doing quite well.
When my adult children and grands come, I know to stock the refrigerator with the juice.........they like it from a point of good health. I just like to drink it for the taste............thanks so much for your article.
gail ... Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on October 7, 2007 at 6:58 PM: I've only had the fruit once or twice, and the juice one time. I loved it. When you make the molasses, what setting do you use on your crockpot, and for how long? Do you stir it? How long does it keep? I bet it would be wonderful in marinades. ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 7, 2007 at 7:17 PM: So glad to have revived so many memories for people - this is good stuff for sure!
I use the low setting and then test it after 4 hours to see the "goopiness" - last Sunday I re-did it on low again for 4 hours and the consistency was perfect :)
Drizzle this on whatever, or if you reduce the sugar like we did in a batch, just take a tablespoon of it a day. You'd be amazed at the sites that sell the stuff for exactly the health purposes we are discussing, at exhorbitant prices !!
Dea
... Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on October 7, 2007 at 7:21 PM: I am going to try real hard and copy your recipe..............I am not young and I vividly remember my grandma made molasses all the time and we HAD to take it!!!!!!!! They all lived a lot longer than a lot of people.......... ... Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on October 7, 2007 at 7:55 PM: So you add sugar and then reduce it? I have never reduced anything before. Would you mind posting how you do this, exactly? Reduction 101 style. LOL ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 7, 2007 at 8:16 PM: Reduction is simply putting the sauce or whatever, juice in this case, on an extremely low simmer. The substance that you are reducing evaportates and a reduction of the "essense" is achieved :)
... Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on October 7, 2007 at 8:26 PM: Do you normally add sugar to a reduction? When you talk about reducing the 64-oz bottle of pomegranate juice, for instance, how much sugar do you add? I'm assuming that's because poms have some tartness to them. No sugar would be needed if one were to reduce orange juice, right? ... Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on October 7, 2007 at 9:14 PM: I am waiting on this answer, too.............gardenwife........... ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 7, 2007 at 9:24 PM: Orange juice, no. Pomegranate juice, yes. But I use only 1/2 cup for all 64 oz. It makes a nice tart glaze or a nice spoonful to take daily.
... Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 7, 2007 at 9:52 PM: Mmmm, sounds a heck of a lot better than cod liver oil! ... Posted by JoyceDee (from Fort White, FL) on October 9, 2007 at 6:22 AM: After reading alll these entries, my mouth is watering. I'm definitely going to buy some pomegranate juice now!
JoyceDee ... Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 9, 2007 at 1:45 PM: I bought a pomegranate yesterday--only one, 'cause they were two bucks apiece!! Oh, the zone envy is killing me... I'm gonna try your idea for floating the seeds out, Dea--thanks! That'll save a lot of mess. LOL ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 9, 2007 at 2:04 PM: Let me know how it goes :) The arils usually sink and the outer core floats. Can't wait to hear :)
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