Illustration from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885, Gera, Germany courtesy of Wikipedia.
My chin is stained with the dark-red
pomegranate juice
This autumn I have eaten pomegranates
knowing their seeds were symbols
of a rebirth . . . Pomegrantes by Hilda Morley in Cloudless at First
Public domain photograph of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Persephona [Persephone].
When we eat pomegranates, we eat food fit for a goddess. In Greek mythology Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was abducted and taken to the underworld by Hades. Zeus demanded that she be returned to earth. Hades had to relent, but Persephone ate four pomegranate seeds and for that she was doomed to return to the underworld for several months (winter time when fields and trees are dormant) each year. We, on the other hand, eat pomegranates and are “doomed” to good health. High in antioxidants and ellagic acid, they are believed to mitigate cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and potential for various cancers including breast and prostate. Pomegrantes are, however, contraindicated for those taking certain medications. So, if you are on cholesterol lowering or blood pressure lowering medications, it’s best to check with your doctor or pharmacist before indulging.
Persians put out big bowls of pomegranates at weddings for fortunate and fruitful marriages. In Persian (Iranian) cuisine – a largely undiscovered wonder in the U.S. – it is used in many delicious ways including their tantalizing walnut, bell pepper, and pomegranate dip, muhamarra. It’s quite easy to prepare: In a blender combine
- two large red peppers, seeded and cut in chunks
- 1/2 cups of raw walnuts
- 3 teaspoons of fresh pomegranate juice
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper
- sea salt to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality you can afford
Blend well. Taste and adjust salt, lemon and olive oil and give it another whirl in the blender. Pour into a bowl and serve with crudités. (Great dish for raw foodists.)
Among modern-day Greeks on New Year’s Day, pomegranates are taken outside the house and smashed on the ground to disperse the seeds for good luck. The further the seeds travel, the better the luck. More practically speaking, the pomegranates are used in drinks, salad dressings, fruit salads, and just by itself. To get at the seeds, cut the pomegranate in half. Hold the halves over a bowl of cold water and tap the shell. The seed and the pith will fall into the water. The seeds will float to the bottom and the pith to the top, making it easy to separate them. Drain off the water and pith and eat the whole seed. The flavor is in the juicy outer part, but the fiber is in the inner kernel, so eat the whole thing for maximum delight and health benefit.
Pomegranate molasses can be combined with the seeds and juice of the fruit to make a delicious Greek salad:
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best you can afford
- 2 teaspoons Annie’s Dijon mustard (gluten-free)
- Freshly ground sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10 cups of mesclun salad mix
- 1 apple, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of crumbled feta
- 1 cup of pomegranate seeds
For the vinaigrette, combine the juice, molasses, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk. To make the salad, combine the greens and the apple in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette and mix. Divide the dressed greens among eight salad dishes. Top with the crumbled feta and the pomegranate seeds. Spoon some more of the vinaigrette over each portion, and you’re ready to go.
In Lebanese cuisine pomegranate seeds are sprinkled on bowls of leban (yogurt) and on hummus bi tahini, chickpeas with sesame seed paste, and baba ghanouz, tahini with eggplant. There is also a popular pomegrante drink – Americans would call it a “mocktail.” Combine the following ingredients in a pitcher and serve over ice:
- 2 1/2 cups fresh pomegranate juice
- 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, Meyers preferred when you can get them
- 1 teaspoon orange-blossom water*
- honey or sugar to taste
- 4 cups mineral water
* Orange blossom water and rose-water are used frequently in Middle Eastern cooking. It may be a bit of an acquired taste. Hard for me to tell since I grew up with it. However, I can give you a good budget tip. If you have a Mediterranean or Indian grocer near you, these waters will be half or even one-third the price of the same product in other stores. And, a beauty tip: rose-water makes a great and very soothing toner for mature skin.
For the holidays, drop a few pomegranate seeds in glasses of champagne for the grown-ups and sparkling apple juice for the kids and watch with delight as the lovely garnet gems dance. Or for the kids a soda with grenadine. Grenadine is a sweet syrup made from pomegranates and something with which most people are familiar since it is often used in mixed drinks. Most of my generation got introduced to it as kids in Shirley Temple and Roy Rodger drinks, ginger ale and grenadine on ice. They might be fun drinks for your kids during holiday season, but probably need to be renamed. Maybe Hanna Montana and Spider Man, or something like that.
Enjoy fresh pomegranate now. The season will pass quickly.
