Ingredient: Pomegranate
Category: Fruit
Season: September to January
The Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5–8 m tall.
The pomegranate is native to the region from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and has been cultivated and naturalised over the whole Mediterranean region and the Caucasus since ancient times.
It is widely cultivated throughout Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, India, and the drier parts of Southeast Asia, Peninsular Malaysia, the East Indies, and tropical Africa.
Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated mainly in the drier parts of California and Arizona for its fruits exploited commercially as juice products gaining in popularity since 2001.
In the global functional food industry, pomegranate is included among a novel category of exotic plant sources called super fruits.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to January.
In the Southern hemisphere, it is in season from March to May.
Culinary uses
After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the arils (seed casings) are separated from the skin (peel) and internal white supporting structures (pith and carpellary membrane).
Separating the red arils can be simplified by performing this task in a bowl of water, whereby the arils will sink and the white structures will float to the top.
The entire seed is consumed raw, though the fleshy outer portion of the seed is the part that is desired.
The taste differs depending on the variety of pomegranate and its state of ripeness. It can be very sweet or it can be very sour or tangy, but most fruits lie somewhere in between, which is the characteristic taste, laced with notes of its tannin.
Pomegranate juice is a popular drink in the Middle East, and is also used in Iranian and Indian cuisine; it began to be widely marketed in the United States in 2002.
Fresh pomegranate arils are used in preparation of curd rice (Telugu: Dadhojanam) in Andhra Pradesh in India.
Pomegranate concentrate is used in Syrian cuisine.
Grenadine syrup is thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice; it is used in cocktail mixing.
Before the tomato arrived in the Middle East, grenadine was widely used in many Persian foods; it can still be found in traditional recipes such as fesenjan (a thick sauce made from pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, usually spooned over duck or other poultry and rice) and ash-e anar (pomegranate soup)
Wild pomegranate seeds are sometimes used as a spice, known as anardana (which literally means pomegranate (anar) seeds (dana) in Persian), most notably in Indian and Pakistani cuisine but also as a replacement for pomegranate syrup in Persian and Middle Eastern cuisine.
The dried whole seeds can often be obtained in ethnic markets. The seeds are separated from the flesh, dried for 10–15 days and used as an acidic agent for chutney and curry production.
The seeds may also be ground in order to avoid seeds becoming stuck in the teeth when eating dishes prepared with them.
The seeds of the wild pomegranate daru from the Himalayas are considered the highest quality source for this spice.
In Armenia and the Caucasus, pomegranate (Armenian: nur) is used in a variety of ways, notably as pomegranate juice.
In Turkey pomegranate sauce , (Turkish: nar ekşisi) is used as a salad dressing, to marinate meat, or simply to drink straight.
Pomegranate seeds are also used in salads and sometimes to garnish desserts such as Güllaç.
Pomegranate syrup or molasses are used in Muhammara (A roasted red pepper, walnut, and garlic spread), popular in Syria as well as Turkey.
In Azerbaijan and Armenia , pomegranate is also used to make high-quality wine, which is successfully exported to other countries.
In Greece , pomegranate (Greek: ροδι, rodi) is used in many recipes; such as kollivozoumi, a creamy broth made from boiled wheat, pomegranates and raisins; legume salad with wheat and pomegranate; traditional Middle Eastern lamb kebabs with pomegranate glaze; pomegranate eggplant relish; avocado and pomegranate dip; are just some of the dishes in which it is used.
Pomegranate is also made into a liqueur and popular fruit confectionery that can be used as ice cream topping, or mixed with yogurt, and even spread as jams over toast for breakfast.
In Cyprus pomegranate (ροδι) is used to make kolliva, which is wheat, pomegranate and sugar along with almonds and other seeds (offered after someone has died and people do a eulogy in church on the deaths anniversary)
In the U.K. pomegranate is usually eaten as a table fruit, eaten straight from the shell-like skin with a spoon or you can cut the fruit into quarters and bend back the skin to release the seeds and juice.
The pomegranate has a hard skin and contains a honeycomb of jewel-like, edible seeds in pink juice chambers.
The best specimens are red-streaked and hard-skinned . |