Sunday, September 30, 2018

Pomegranates

Pomegranates

On Friday, when friend M was here to work on the garden, I had him pick three pomegranates from the tree, as they were located fairly high up and he needed to trim one of the branches as it was knocking against the gutter (with the rainy season approaching, I don't want the gutter to get clogged with leaves, etc.).

On Saturday, I decided to cut open the fruits to see how they were.  The smallest of the pomegranates had a dark patch on the peel that I attributed to sun damage from the very hot days earlier in the summer.  When I cut it open, the inside was all black and dried up, so I just tossed it, without even taking a picture.

The second fruit was already starting to split at the top, but when I cut it open, it was a little better - not fully ripe, yet, but already starting to spoil!  The fruits tend to split due to irregular watering, and I'm afraid I am guilty of that!


Second Pomegranate - Starting to Spoil

The third pomegranate was the best of the three we picked:

Third Pomegranate

I was able to pick enough of the arils or pips to fill a very small glass dish:


Pomegranate Arils or Pips
Probably no more than half a cup, if that.  Each one has a seed inside, but the seeds are edible.  What does one do with so few pomegranate pips?  I could eat the whole bowl in one sitting, but I wanted to stretch them out as much as I could to get maximum enjoyment of them.  So, I decided to make a salad for a late lunch, and sprinkled a teaspoon or two of the pomegranate pips over the salad.  Every time I bit into one of the pips, the tang of fresh pomegranate was very detectable and delicious. 


Salad with Pomegranate Garnish
The Armenian store has pomegranates for sale, for $.99/lb. I just might buy a few to enjoy more fresh pomegranates, since this is the season for them.

Have you eaten fresh pomegranates?  What is your favorite way to eat them?


14 comments:

  1. Yum! I remember when we were kids the local green grocers would have pomegranates and Mum would always get some. We would eat the pips right out of the fruit picking them out with a pin or needle lol. Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories!

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    1. Some people claim that whacking the fruit with a wooden spoon handle will loosen the pips so that it is easier to remove them, but that hasn't worked for me. Glad to have helped you recall some good memories. :)

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  2. I love pomegranates but it's hard to find fresh ones here. I don't like buying already separated pips in jars.
    You are very disciplined. I would've eaten the entire bowl in five minutes. LOL

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    1. I'd have thought they grew well, there! Ha, ha, I was tempted to eat it all at once, but I want to savor them, as it took me more than 5 minutes to get the pips out! :D

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  3. I've not eaten pomegranate in ages, but like Sharon I used to be given a pin to eat them with. Maybe it was to keep me out of mischief, as it took a while. 😃

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    1. I've never heard of using a pin to remove the arils till Sharon and you mentioned it, Jules! It's the season for pomegranates, here, so a few of the stores carry them.

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  4. I usually use the whack with a wooden spoon technique - but recently saw someone on TV put the halved fruit into a large bowl of water then used their fingers underwater to pull out the arils. Then they drained away the water. That seemed a bit OTT to me

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    1. Yes, I've heard of the underwater technique - meant to keep the juice from splattering all over, I believe. It can be a bit messy, but I generally don't remove the arils underwater.

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  5. I have never grown pomegranate, Bless, but I adore their colour and flavour. I make a salad that has pomegranate but I don't make it often as sometimes it's hard to find the fruit for sale here. Meg:)

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    1. This is the season for them, here, Meg, and I look forward to them. My daughter loves them, too, but she says she can't be bothered removing the pips! LOL! I quite enjoyed them in my salad, the other day, and I added some to a glass of water to make infused water, yesterday.

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  6. I'm not sure I've ever eaten a pomegranate although it has been combined with other ingredients in some dishes. They certainly don't grow around here in people's backyards. It's always so interesting to see things about other people's everyday living.

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    1. I hope you get an opportunity to eat a pomegranate, one day. :) At least a couple of my neighbors have pomegranates growing in their backyards. They do well in our warm, dry climate.

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  7. I like the pips with yogurt and homemade granola

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    1. Oh, that sounds good! I haven't tried them with yogurt and granola. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

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