North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: Message

Here's some info from the California Pomegranate Council:

 

The Spanish are credited with bringing pomegranates to California some 200 years ago, and today most of the commercially grown pomegranates in the United States come from the San Joaquin Valley. Fresh pomegranates are available from September through the end of December but the juice and concentrate are available year-round. Imports are sometimes available at other times of the year.

The outside of a pomegranate is a beautiful dark red color, and the rind is very tough.  The prize inside is juicy red flesh that is loaded with seeds.

Only the seeds of the pomegranate are edible, and they are also the source of the juice. When you're looking for a pomegranate at the market, make sure that the skin is thin, tough and unbroken. It should feel heavy for its size since the seeds make up more than half of the weight of the fruit. When you get it home, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months.

A lot of people avoid pomegranates because it takes some effort to get to the seeds, but we think it's worth it. The California Pomegranate Council (http://www.pomegranates.org) has developed a quick, six-step process for removing the seeds from a pomegranate.

1. Cut the crown end off the pomegranate.

2. Lightly score the rind in several places.

3. Immerse the fruit in a bowl of water and soak for five minutes.

4. Hold the fruit under water and break the sections apart, separating the seeds from the membrane. The seeds will sink while the rind and membrane will float.

5. Skim off and discard the membranes and rind.

6. Pour the seeds into a colander and drain them. Pat dry.

The seeds can be refrigerated for up to three days and can be frozen in an airtight container for up to six months. When the seeds thaw they will no longer be good for eating but are perfectly fine for making juice.

To get the juice out of the seeds, put them in a food processor or blender until they turn to juice. Then strain the juice through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Juice can be frozen for about six months in an airtight container. Bottled juice is widely available and comes in two forms, unsweetened (quite tart) and "cocktail" which may have as little as 20 percent juice.

--Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA Zone 4b) 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Lon J. Rombough
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 11:48 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] POMEGRANATES pack a healthy punch (Newsday)

Have you ever gone to a place like Orange Julius or Jamba Juice, with a machine for juicing oranges?  You can juice pomegranates in a device like that, squeezing them, though I personally don't care for the juice that way because it gets a lot of tannins from the rind and albedo (the white material the seeds are embedded in).  
-Lon Rombugh

Has anyone found a convenient way to consume Pomegranates?

They are among the more difficult fruits to consume.