Cooking With Pomegranate Molasses

Recently, pomegranates have exploded on the culinary scene. Pomegranate juice, pomegranate cookies, pomegranate glaze, pomegranate cocktails–recipes made from this delicious fruit can be found in all sections of a menu or cookbook. But in many cultures, especially in their origin country of Iran (formerly Persia), pomegranates have long been used and loved for both their flavor and health benefits.

Preparing and Eating Pomegranates

Pomegranates, a tree-grown fruit, spread from their origin in the Mid East to Southeast Asia and are now grown in Mexico and California. They are delicious to eat out of hand, but challenging. When the fruit is broken open, it exposes a myriad of small, brilliantly red bits called “arils,” which are shaped somewhat like water drops.These are actually seeds surrounded by juice and enclosed by a casing. The arils are attached to white pulp. It’s actually easy to separate the arils from the pulp. Put the halved or quartered fruit in a bowl of water and break it apart further–the arils will float and the pulp will sink.

At this point, the pomegranate seeds can be used whole or juiced. Kept in their whole state, they add a brilliant color and a sweet/sour element to salads, or in a salsa. When juiced, they can be used as a drinking juice, reduced to a syrup, or further reduced to molasses.

Historically, many people were introduced to pomegranates through grenadine, a bright red syrup originally made from pomegranates and used in cocktails and as a flavoring. The non-alcoholic drink called a Shirley Temple is grenadine and orange juice. Unless labeled as pomegranate syrup, however, today’s grenadine is mostly artificially-flavored corn syrup. However, an excellent grenadine made from pomegranates is still made by the Sonoma Syrup Company, and is available through mail-order from King Arthur’s Flour Co.

Pomegranate Molasses

Pomegranate molasses is pomegranate syrup further reduced, and is therefore intenser and thicker. It used to be hard to find, but can now be found in most whole foods stores as well as many supermarkets. The most common brand is Al Wadi. A little of the molasses goes a long way, so it will last awhile. It is shelf friendly.

Straight out of the bottle, pomegranate molasses can be used wherever a flavorful fruit syrup is used–as an ice cream topping, smoothie flavoring, in a glaze, or in a salad dressing. To get started, here are two recipes. Fesenjan is a classic dish from Persian cuisine; for something a bit out of the ordinary, try the pomegranate margarita.

Fesenjan

This dish, essentially meat braised in a sauce made from walnuts and pomegranates, is traditionally made with either small meat balls or poultry and is served over rice. Chicken thighs stay moister than breast meat and is used in the following recipe, but the same quantity of skinless, boneless chicken breasts can be substituted. Serves 8.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups walnuts, finely ground
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped or grated
5 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar or honey, optional
2 tablespoons butter
4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

Directions

1. In a large skillet, toast the walnuts over dry heat until golden. Transfer the nuts into a stock pot or large, 5-6 cup Dutch oven.
2. Heat the oil in the now empty skillet, and saute the onions until soft and translucent. Remove the onions and add to the walnuts.
3. Add the tomato paste, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon, pepper, and salt to the walnuts and onions. Add 2 1/2 cups water. Bring everything to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and, if too sour, add the sugar or honey.
4. Melt the butter in the skillet. Brown the chicken pieces.
5. When browned, add the chicken to the pot with the rest of the ingredients, simmer for approximately one hour, stirring occasionally.

NOTE: This Fesenjan recipe is adapted from a recipe in M.R. Ghanoonparvar’s book, Persian Cuisine (Mazda Publishers, 1982-2006).

Pomegranate Margarita

The use of Rose’s lime juice is to compensate for the sourness in the molasses; feel free to substitute freshly squeezed lime juice if a slightly tarter drink is preferred. This recipes makes one drink; multiply as needed for the number of drinks desired

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces tequila
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
1/4 ounce pomegranate molasses
1/4 ounce Rose’s lime juice (or equal amounts fresh lime juice)
Lime Wedge

Directions

1. Add three ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Add all the ingredients except the lime wedge.
2. Shake and pour into a margarita or martini glass.
3. Add the lime wedge.