O Pomegranate!

Pomegranate juice makes wonderful, intense sorbet. One that makes you feel like a thief and a monarch.

You will need about twenty fruits. Pick heavy dark red pomegranates whose skin is tight and shiny or breaking at their invisible seams.

First remove the dark red seeds from the dreadfully bitter white pith. Be aware the juice permanently stains clothes, like blood.

Put seeds in food processor in small batches. Pulse briefly, only until seeds are broken. You do not want to create mush, for the seeds inside the seeds are not tasty. Pour out mixture into a fine meshed sieve over a stainless steel or glass bowl. Continue and repeat this process until all your seeds are liquefied.

With a rubber spatula, or gentle object, move that which lies in the strainer around. You do not want any of the internal seed in your pure juice, you just want the juice to continue moving through the sieve.

When you have all the ruby liquid, season carefully with superfine sugar. {Superfine sugar is also known as bartender's sugar or baker's sugar.} Taste as you season; you do not want to mask the elusive pomegranate perfume with sucrose.

Churn in an ice cream maker of your choice, according to its instructions.

Garnish with some extra pomegranate seeds and a wicked smile.

*this piece first appeared in PERSEPHONE. A Pocket Myth, edited and compiled by Andrea Lawlor.*

Comments

[Derrick Schneider]

What a coincidence. I am reading this shortly after assembling the liquid for a pomegranate sorbet. I'll be freezing it in the morning.

Tis the season, I suppose.

[kudzu]

The first thing I ever stole was a pomegranate, because we didn't have any in our yard, but Mrs. Teasley (isn't that a perfect name?) did. BTW: The only other thing I ever stole was a book from the library because it was on a restricted list; you know all about radical readers, no?

I love to dry the fruit and keep it as decoration, a Chinese symbol of fortune. I have one next to a little painting of a pomegranate on a piece of wood, a nice echo.

Have you looked into Georgian (as in Russian) recipes? They do wonderful things with the seeds and juices. Perfect for the beginning of our dark season.

[lindy]

I believe the pomegranite is the symbol of the city of Granada, in Spain.At least that's what someone told me when I asked about the beautiful cast iron pomegranites you see everywhere there.(I think they were originally hitching posts or something of the sort.)

I do think that they are a lovely shape, in addition to being ridiculously delicious.Kind of voluptuous.

[shuna fish]

Yeah! Derrick visited! Hello.

Kudzu,

I have a dried one on my windowsill and your comment inspired me to put another one up there today.

Lindy,

maybe one day you'll show us those photos... :}
I think of pears as being voluptuous, but pomegranates seem darker, harder, like demon fruit...no coincidence that they are the fruit of Hades, eh.

[Nabeela]

Pom sorbets are yum! I didn't know it was a common dish over here in USA though...when I typed in pomegranate sorbet on google, a host of recipes came forth. I made pomegranate sorbet a while ago and my husband loved it. He loved it so much that I made it again.....but with bottled pom juice(gasp!)....it was so horrible it almost laid me off of sorbets for a while. But I bought some ridiculously priced poms again to try the sorbet....and *sigh* the sorbet is super duper delicious...my husband is happy again :)

[Kiki]

I just moved overseas and we're staying with the in-laws til our new house is ready, and I am stuck for now with the most horrid tiny ill-equipped kitchen, but I've had the most ridiculous craving for pomegranate sorbet so I'm making some. No ice cream freezer, so I'll have to put it in a dish in the regular freezer and stir periodically. Well worth the effort, though.