Culinary uses of pomegranate

After cutting the pomegranate with a knife and opening it, the seeds are separated from the peel and inner pulp membrane.It is easier to separate the seeds in a bowl of water, as the seeds sink and the inedible pulp floats.Freezing the whole fruit is also easier to separate.Another effective way to harvest seeds quickly is to cut a pomegranate in half, score the rind of each half 4 to 6 times, place the pomegranate half over a bowl, and tap the rind with a large spoon.The seeds should pop straight from the pomegranate into the bowl, leaving only a dozen or more deeply embedded seeds to remove.Pomegranate juice can be sweet or tart, but most fruits have a mild flavor and the tartness comes from the acidic ellagitannins contained in the juice.Pomegranate juice has long been a popular drink in Europe and the Middle East, and is now widely distributed in the United States and Canada.

Grenadine molasses originally consisted of thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice and is now commonly marketed as a syrup based on various berries, citric acid, and food coloring, used primarily in cocktail mixing.Pomegranate juice, molasses and vinegar were widely used in many Iranian foods before the tomato, a New World fruit, arrived in the Middle East and are still present in traditional recipes such as fesenjān, a dish made from pomegranate juice and walnuts A thick sauce, usually spooned over duck or other poultry and rice, and served in ash-e anar (pomegranate soup).

Pomegranate seeds are used as a spice called anar dana (from Persian: anar + dana, pomegranate + seed), especially in Indian and Pakistani cuisines.Dried whole seeds are usually available in Indian ethnic markets.The seeds are separated from the pulp and dried for 10-15 days to be used as a sour agent in chutney and curry preparations.Ground anardana is also used, which develops a deeper flavor in the dish and prevents the seeds from getting stuck in the teeth.The seeds of the wild Himalayan pomegranate variety daru are considered an excellent source of this spice.Dried pomegranate seeds, found in some natural specialty food markets, still contain some residual moisture and retain their natural sweetness and sourness.Dried seeds can be used in a variety of culinary applications, such as mixed dried fruit, granola bars, or as a topping for salads, yogurt, or ice cream.

In the Caucasus, pomegranates are mainly used for juicing.In Azerbaijan, a sauce made from pomegranate juice narsharab (from Persian: (a)nar + sharab, kindled. "Pomegranate wine") is often eaten with fish or tika kabab.In Turkey, pomegranate paste (Turkish: nar ekşisi) is used as a salad dressing, cured meat or as a drink.Pomegranate seeds are also used in salads and sometimes as a garnish for desserts such as güllaç.Pomegranate molasses or molasses is used in muhammara, a paste of roasted red peppers, walnuts, and garlic popular in Syria and Turkey.

In Greece, pomegranates are used in many recipes, including kollivozoumi, a creamy soup made of cooked wheat, pomegranates and raisins, wheat and pomegranate bean salad, traditional Middle Eastern kebabs with pomegranate glaze, eggplant with pomegranate Dressing and avocado pomegranate dip.Pomegranates are also made into liqueur, a popular fruit candy, used as a topping for ice cream, mixed with yogurt, or spread on toast as a jam.In Mexico, they are often used to garnish the traditional dish chiles en nogada, where they represent the red color of the Mexican flag and are reminiscent of the tricolor of green (poblano peppers), white (nogada sauce) and red (pomegranate seeds).

Nutrition

The edible portion of a raw pomegranate is 78% water, 19% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 1% fat (table). A 100-gram (3.5-ounce) serving of pomegranate seeds provides 12 percent of the DV for vitamin C, 16 percent of the DV for vitamin K and 10 percent of the DV for folic acid (table).Pomegranate seeds are high in dietary fiber (20% DV), contained entirely within the edible seed.