CONSIDERED A SACRED FOOD SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, POMEGRANATE SEEDS ARE BURSTING WITH POTENT ANTIOXIDANTS
Pomegranates are one of the most beautiful and unique fruits in the world. No other fruit has ivory chambers holding mounds of faceted, ruby-like seeds. These stunning fruits and their scintillating, astringent seeds have been considered a sacred food and the embodiment of erotic pleasure since the ancient world. They have symbolized fertility, abundance, rejuvenation and immortality for many cultures and religions throughout history.
This exceptional fruit is high in potassium and is an excellent source of vitamin C, polyphenols, acids and tannins, which have potent antioxidant actions. The tannin anthocyanin, an antioxidant fruit pigment that makes blueberries blue and pomegranate seeds red, has extraordinary healing properties. The seeds are used medicinally for their cooling, drying and detoxifying astringency in Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine.
To deseed a pomegranate, place it in a large bowl. The juice stains, so protect your clothes and countertop from splatters. Cut a shallow circle out of the crown with a sharp knife, taking care not to slice into the seeds. Pull off the crown. Turn the fruit over, cut a shallow circle out of the bottom and pull it off. Turn the pomegranate over. The seeds will be visible in sections edged by six lines of white pith. Using the lines as a guide, score the rind six times from top to bottom and pull it apart into six sections of uncovered seeds. Loosen the seeds from the pith into an empty bowl. Eat the seeds, sprinkle them as a sparkling garnish on fruit or vegetable salads, chicken or lamb dishes, or juice them.
To make pomegranate juice, puree the seeds in a blender, then press the pulp through a mesh strainer into a bowl to extract all the juice. If desired, add sugar to sweeten and water to dilute the juice. Two large pomegranates will yield a cup of juice. Pomegranate juice is one of the highest concentrated sources of antioxidants of any fruit juice.
You can also drink the juice directly from the fruit. Release the juice from the seeds by pressing firmly while rolling a ripe pomegranate on a cutting board. Puncture the skin and make a small, deep incision with a knife or coring tool. Insert a straw and sip from the elegant cup.
Cosmos, martinis and other delectable cocktails can be made with Pama liqueur, a blend of premium vodka, tequila and pomegranate juice, available in Victoria at five BC liquor stores. Pama can also be used in cooking. These tart-sweet fruits are cultivated throughout Asia, as well as in Spain, Greece, Italy and Iraq, and are widely used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.
Most of the pomegranates sold in B.C. are grown in California. Pomegranate molasses is used to flavour spicy Middle Eastern lamb and fish dishes and can also be used to make salad dressings, sauces and marinades. In Persian and Indian cookery, ground anardana (dried pomegranate seeds) is used to add depth of flavour to pastries, breads, chutneys, braising liquids and sauces. A paste of crushed anardana, sumac, cardamom, garlic, ginger and chilies moistened with olive oil is a superb marinade for roasted lamb.
Fasenjan—chicken, duck or pheasant simmered in a sauce made of ground walnuts, onions, chicken stock and anardana or pomegranate molasses—is a delicious Iranian dish. Anardana is available at Middle Eastern specialty food stores such as Lakehill Grocery, which also sells Turkish pomegranate juice and pomegranate syrup, a flavouring for refreshing drinks.
California-grown pomegranates are available in Victoria from October to the end of
December. The early fruits are the size of an orange. Larger pomegranates are more widely available in December. These red beauties will zing the strings of your heart.
