Pomegranate Season

I’ve always loved eating pomegranates, and look forward to the fall when I can buy them again. Years ago, around this time of year, our youngest was still in college a few states away. She phoned home and excitedly asked, “Guess what I found in the grocery store?” It being prime pomegranate season, I answered, just as excitedly, “Pomegranates!” Dawn responded that my answer was totally random as well as wrong. I don’t remember what she’d found that was so exciting, but defended my response with the observation that “Screwdrivers!” would have been a really random answer. At least you expect to find pomegranates at a grocers. This little interchange has become legend in our repertoire. Whenever the “guess what “ comes up, the proper response is “Pomegranates!” Or just talking about them brings up this event. Our daughters find it much funnier than I do.

So, some info about these delicious fruits is warranted. These delectable fruits have been around since at least 2000 BC. They grow in the Middle East, notably Iran and India. In the US, they’re grown in California and Arizona. They grow on shrubs, not true trees. The “crown” is actually where the flower had been, and so it hangs down. There are over 500 varieties, but only three types are grown here. The fruits are available from mid-September through November. Sometimes you can still purchase them into January. They keep well on the counter at room temperature up to two weeks, or, wrapped loosely in plastic, in the fridge up to two months.

You’ll want to choose the ones that are a bit browner, and heavy for their size. There should be a bit of “give” in the skin when you lightly squeeze them. The beautiful bright red ones were picked before they were fully ripe (they don’t ripen more after picking, so the arils will be more bitter or tart). Each pomegranate will yield about 800 arils. Aril is the term for the juicy red flesh surrounding the pip, or seed. You can eat those arils as is, or add them to salads, or make dressings and marinades with them. Getting a half-cup of juice takes three-quarters of a cup of the arils. My research said there’s pomegranate molasses available in stores, but I’ve never seen any for sale.

Side note: grenadine is actually made from pomegranate juice. Our granddaughter ordered a cherry coke, which the restaurant was out of at the time. Waitstaff brought her regular coke flavored with grenadine. After that person left the table, Lynn was very dismissive of the substitution, as there was no cherry in her coke. She did allow as how her pomegranate coke tasted pretty good.

In other news, we’ve had a pheasant visiting our yard this past week. We’d seen one here many years ago, but it disappeared within a few days. (We hope it moved on and wasn’t dinner for a fox.) They’re definitely not common up here. We’ve watched it running from the relative safety of the lilac hedge outside our living room to the relative safety of the Russian olive trees out back. He really scoots across that open ground even as his little legs sink periodically in the soft snow. He’s been accosted by the sharptails, who seem to think their longevity of living in our trees gives them some special right to terrorize the newbie. The birds seem to have reached a truce: the pheasant stays on the ground, while the sharptails claim the high ground, perching triumphantly in the trees on the slimmest possible branches. (It’s fun to watch them land and flutter their wings frantically until balance is achieved. Even funnier is when a second and then a third bird chooses to join the first on that skinny twig.)

Besides it being pomegranate season, this is also the time of year I make my mother-in-law’s caramel popcorn. The recipe is labor intensive and a bit time-consuming, but so worth it. You’ll need an old-fashioned brown paper grocery bag for each batch. I make the caramel sauce in my one remaining large Corning ware casserole dish. As my dad said about his peanut brittle recipe, you’ll seriously want to avoid getting any of that hot caramel on your hands when pouring it over the popped corn. You can substitute any nut meats you like for the peanuts. I highly recommend pecans, but have also used almonds, pistachios, and mixed nuts. Or leave the nuts out altogether. That’s how our youngest wants hers.

Glenice’s Caramel Popcorn

3 qt popped corn (old maids removed)

1 1/2 c unsalted roasted peanuts

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter

1/4 C light corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Optional: 1/2 tsp almond extract

Place popped corn and nuts in a large paper bag. Combine brown sugar, butter, syrup, and salt in a microwave-safe glass bowl or casserole. Microwave 3-4 minutes, stirring after each minute until mixture boils. Microwave 2 minutes more without the stirring. Stir in baking soda and extract; mix well. Pour over popped corn. Close up bag. Shake well. Microwave 1 minute. Shake bag. Microwave another minute. Shake bag vigorously again. Microwave 1 minute again (3 times in all). Pour into a large roaster. Stir while it is cooling to keep pieces separate.