My cousin and her husband headed out to the east coast for a couple of weeks, so not only did I have the pleasure of dog-sitting their puppy Coco, but I also gained some food items from their kitchen. One is pomegranates.
I’ve made a few things with pomegranates before, but never took the time to really appreciate its true organic form—the juice. That said, alongside juicing called for a little bubbly mix.
Ingredients:
• 8 pomegranates
• 1/2 cup ginger ale, seltzer, or club soda (optional)
• Fresh mint, for garnish (optional)
Equipment:
• Large bowl
• Medium bowl, for seeds.
• Mesh strainer or slotted spoon
• Knife
• Colander
• Blender
• Paper towels
Recipe Preparation:
1. Place pomegranate in a large bowl. Make a shallow slit at the top around the crown. Cut all the way creating a shallow circle. Remove crown.
2. Turn the pomegranate over. Repeat this process.
3. Cut in the sides of the rind, following the lines of the pith, from the top of the fruit to the bottom. Pull the fruit apart.
4. Gently loosen the seeds from the pith and place them into the clean bowl filled with water. Keep paper towels handy!
5. When all the seeds have been removed, use a mesh strainer or slotted spoon to remove the floating pieces of pith from the water surface.
6. Drain the seeds in a colander. Remove any additional pieces of pith that may have mixed into the seeds.
7. Place your pomegranate seeds in a blender.
8. Pulse the seeds a few times to break them apart and release their juice. Don’t blend them for a long period of time, or the seeds will break apart and create cloudy juice.
9. Use a mesh strainer to strain the pomegranate liquid into a container.
10. Use the back of a spoon to gently push against the pomegranate pulp and extract as much juice as possible.
11. Chill, if desired.
12. Serve as, or mix 1 cup pomegranate juice with 1/2 cup ginger ale, and ice. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired.
