Making lemons 🍋 out of lemonade I suppose... but pomegranates!

I’ve had my fill for sure this season. I moved to new house where it was practically raining pomegranates! How amazing is that!

I live in Arizona and this August moved to a beautiful house in Page Springs just outside Sedona, Az. The hillside above my house featured at least 12 pomegranate bushes. My landlords didn’t even think twice about the goldmine at the top of their driveway. With their permission I picked many boxes as I could musher and made the pomegranates a project. I must have harvested at least 75 pounds by early December. What a unexpected adventure and exploration it turned out to be .

So what did I do with the 75 pounds?

I gave several boxes away to a vegan chef friend of mine, ate alot of seeds on salads, de-seeded and gave the seeds to the landlords, froze the seeds, but I was looking for different ways to keep them longer. I researched and learned a-lot and I am posting my findings here. As a chef my focus went to preserving these fruits and fully utilizing them as best as possible.

The best thing I did was make this molasses recipe.

So let me tell you a little bit I learned about pomegranates..

Pomegranate season happens mid-September through to late December or even early January.

How to pick a pomegranate..

Best way to pick them are with some cutters like rose cutters or pruning sheers you can also use some very sharp kitchen scissors.

How to to know if they are Ripe?

If you have pomegranates growing near you, a great indicator to pick them is if they start splitting, or if the color starts to turn slightly reddish or a light pink. Unlike other fruits they don’t fall off the stem very easily when it’s time to pick them. (Such a squash or avocado).

They will ripen slightly on a counter as well but will keep good for maybe a week. Depending on how mature they are inside the husk. Fruits ripen and mature differently on different trees. Depending on the tree or bush also the area where that bush maybe growning will affect when the fruit is ready. Some areas get more sun/shade/ water less water etc.

How to store?

Store in the fridge to extend the life of these fruits. You can also freeze the seeds. I like preserving pomegranates in the form of pomegranate molasses. It keeps for at least 6months in the fridge.

Pomegranate Molasses Recipe

Cook Time: 60 mins

SERVINGS 16 servings

Makes 2 cup

Ingredients

10 cups pomegranate seeds (blended in a blender then strained using a cheesecloth and sieve)

Starting with..

-7 cups of pomegranates juice

-1/4 cup lemon juice

-1 cup of cane sugar

Method

1.) transfer the pomegranate juice into a large pot and set to low-medium heat.

2.) Add lemon juice, and cane sugar and proceed to cook on medium- low heat for 45-50 mins stirring occasionally until you have a thick syrup.

Essentially you are cooking the juice down and reducing it to a concentrated syrup.

3.) To test your mixture is read you want to get a clean spoon and dip it in the mixture. Then when it is cooled-drag your finger across the spoon, you should see a clean line. This is a indication the mixture/ molasses is ready. Transfer to a bottle and store and enjoy.

Will last for 6months in the refrigerator.

How to use
This delicious nectar is great to use in salad dressing, beverages, or on top of ice cream or nice cream.