# Pomegranate, what to do with it?



## giggler (Nov 17, 2018)

I put fruit on the grocery list, Dear spouse came home with this big Pomagranit!


Size of a softball, hard skin..


I don't even know how to open it up!


Any thought on these?


I asked my Dad, they had a tree when I was little.. he said they used to have stick ball fights with them...


Eric, Austin Tx.


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## msmofet (Nov 17, 2018)

Here’s a link to cutting open a Pomegranate

How to Open a Pomegranate


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## Dawgluver (Nov 17, 2018)

I use #1 in msmofet's link. Works like a charm. I used to just rip the pomegranate apart, getting juice on everything, then I discovered the Dirt Farmer video (same as that described in  the link).


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## Caslon (Nov 17, 2018)

Enjoy it like it was the fruit of the gods, which many in ancient times thought it was. They make a pomegranate drink. It's supposed to be chalk full of anti oxidants.  I'd like to have two trees if I could.  An avacado tree and a pomegranate tree.


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## taxlady (Nov 18, 2018)

Here's the video Dawg mentioned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma77qhzNnOI


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## Rocklobster (Nov 18, 2018)

one of those things..either you like it, or you don't..I don't mind eating it but I'm not going to spend the time preparing it..


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## imp (Nov 18, 2018)

*Why Pomegranates?*

Loaded with antioxidants, which are believed to be used by the human body to ward off cancer cell beginnings. Second most oxidants of any fruit, it's disputed, of course, but Blueberries are said to be better in this respect. 

When I was a kid outside of Chicago, my Mother occasionally bought me a Pomegranate: she called them "Chinese Apples", why, I never knew. Cut open, the thick jelly-like syrup clings to the seeds, of which there are many. Some eat the seeds along with the very sweet juice.

Pomegranate syrup is used to make Grenadine Syrup:






See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadine

The name grenadine originated from the French word grenade which means pomegranate, with pomme meaning apple and granate derived from the Italian word for seeds. 

*"Grenadine was originally prepared from pomegranate juice, sugar, and water."*

*"Pomegranate seeds are a great source of fiber, and the juice contains vitamin C, potassium, iron, and polyphenol antioxidants. Three types of polyphenols – tannins, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid – are present in particularly high levels in pomegranate juice, and have the most powerful health benefits. Recent scientific research has revealed many health-promoting effects of pomegranate."*

See: https://www.superkidsnutrition.com/sf_pomegranate/


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## taxlady (Nov 19, 2018)

In German and the Scandinavian languages the word for an orange comes from "Chinese apple".


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## imp (Nov 19, 2018)

taxlady said:


> In German and the Scandinavian languages the word for an orange comes from "Chinese apple".



Interesting! My high school German brings back the recall the "Apple" in German is "Apfel'. Back then at age 15, I never imagined that year of study, each evening memorizing a "Wortschatz" as my Mother grilled me learning 10 or 12 words daily, would prove beneficial several years later, when a delectable 15 year-old girl moved in two doors away with her folks, just emigrated from Germany! My natural shyness and backwardness seemed reduced, as that common bond of my partial understanding of German melded with her total lack of knowledge of English. We married a year and a half later.....


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## Addie (Nov 19, 2018)

Rocklobster said:


> one of those things..either you like it, or you don't..I don't mind eating it but I'm not going to spend the time preparing it..



So how does one eat it? Do you chew the seeds? Ouch!


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## Cooking Goddess (Nov 19, 2018)

The seeds aren't a big deal, *Addie*. They're so small inside the red pulp that it isn't worth trying to dig them out. They have a texture similar to - well, if you use a toothpick to get something out from between your teeth and bite down on the very tip of the toothpick? They aren't even that hard. And unlike watermelon seeds, they aren't even worth trying to spit out.


*imp*, I saw in another thread that you were making cranberry wine. Ages ago, the first time Himself and I vacationed in MA before we had to move here (it's a great place to visit, but....), we were camping somewhere on Cape Cod freezing our butts off. We ran across this liqueur called "Boggs Cranberry Liqueur" that was delicious but oh-so-sweet. I found a "recipe" for making the liqueur, but it looks like you don't make it as a wine but rather an infusion with vodka.

How To Make Cranberry Liqueur


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## caseydog (Nov 19, 2018)

Soooo, I'm not seeing any posts saying what to do with them, as far as making them into food. Are they good for cooking anything? Baking? Just eat them?

CD


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## JustJoel (Nov 19, 2018)

caseydog said:


> Soooo, I'm not seeing any posts saying what to do with them, as far as making them into food. Are they good for cooking anything? Baking? Just eat them?
> 
> CD


Sure, just eating them works. Mark loves them. If you do a YouTube search you’ll find quite a few videos on how to easily extract the arils without making too much of a mess.

The arils are also used in cooking. So is the juice. If you google “recipes for pomegranate,” you’ll find quite a list. Don’t bother though, I’ve done it for you!


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## taxlady (Nov 19, 2018)

caseydog said:


> Soooo, I'm not seeing any posts saying what to do with them, as far as making them into food. Are they good for cooking anything? Baking? Just eat them?
> 
> CD


 The video I linked mentions, "eating, juicing, putting them on a salad".

I have had them added to a number of dishes, but I got the impression that with the cooked dishes, they were added very late in the cooking process, if not after the cooking was done.


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## Dawgluver (Nov 19, 2018)

One use: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiles_en_nogada

A wonderful dish, with colors of the Mexican flag.

My mom never bought them when I was a kid, I learned what they were and how to eat them from one of my buddies in the 'hood.


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## CharlieD (Nov 20, 2018)

The pomegranates are one of the yummiest fruits ever. Just eat them. Sprinkle the seeds into a salad. I absolutely love pomegranates. Too bad they are seasonal.


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## imp (Nov 20, 2018)

Our Pomegranate tree, 5 years old last year, had about 15 or 20 fruits. There seems to be a lot of varying opinion regarding regarding how to recognize ripeness; the fruit are very hard throughout their stay on the tree, so touch is meaningless. 

Lo and behold, turned out birds knew darned well when to eat them, and over a few days' time, only pecked-out hulls remained!


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