Pom-uh-whatnow?

They really are some of the stranger looking fruits out there, pomegranates. Labor-intensive too, but I guess most of the better things in the world are. And of course, given the magic of intertubes, I can present you a tutorial on how to free the little orbs o' goodness from their weird, fleshy imprisonment:




Dude for sure goes on a little long and is probably a little more excited than is strictly warranted, but this is exactly the method our kitchen staff uses when they're making our pomegranate sorbetto. Given that we need a BUNCH of pomegranate seeds (are they actually seeds? Hold on, we'll get to that) to make a pan of sorbetto for you, we definitely have to employ the most expedient method possible.

Hey pretty sorbetto, how YOU doon?!

So what's the deal with pomegranates, anyway? I'll tell ya, as I write more of these posts about some of our more esoteric ingredients I've learned that a lot of them are native to central Asia--pomegranates in particular are from what we call Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan these days. 

And the good stuff, the little juicy bits that we go through all the labor to procure? They are seeds, but what we're really after is more accurately called the arils, which, given the squiggly red line my blog editor has put under the word, is probably not a word most of us know. See, the aril is the fleshy part SURROUNDING the seed, not the seed itself. Pomegranates and the lychee have something in common! (Thus Rambutan too, but we all know how I feel about them.)

There are for sure different cultivars (read: varieties) of pomegranates, but they don't have the same diversity as, say, the apple family--meaning any pomegranate you find is going to taste by and large like a pomegranate. Some are going to be sweeter, some are going to be more sour (why not sourer? The English language is hard.). Mostly it has to do with the amount of tannins in any individual fruit. 

For sure pomegranates have been more on the culinary radar in the last couple of years, probably because someone (not going to name names) decided that they could make a ton of money off of them by citing some questionable scientific evidence suggesting that pomegranates are intrinsically better for you than, like, all the other fruits combined. Why does it have to be such a competition, though? Fruits are delicious and, by and large, good for you. So eat whatever fruit you like and however much you like of it without being so judge-y. Just eat it! (Little known fact: pummelos have, it'll surprise you to learn, shockingly poor self esteem. It's okay, pummelo, we think you're delicious too.) 

So. Pomegranate. Worth the work! Come and get some sorbetto soon, it'll only be around so long. Git on in here!