In Season: Celebrate the holidays with festive pomegranates

These tightly packed sacs, called arils, are the heart of the pomegranate's flavor. (Photo by Lauren Duffy)

When the holiday season comes around, food is all about celebration. But with dozens of cocktail parties, office gatherings and neighborhood events, celebration often seems like overindulgence. If only there were a festive food that was actually good for you…

Enter the pomegranate.

The first hint of festivity comes from the fruit’s dark pink, hearty skin. Left whole, the softball-sized fruit make a stunning centerpiece and a beautiful addition to a natural table display. But it is the fruit’s dazzling interior that will wow a dinner table. Break open a pomegranate and you’ll find hundreds of tightly packed sparkling sacs, each which contains a single seed surrounded by deep-colored juice. Glistening like small gems, dazzling ruby red in color, it is these sacs-called arils-that are the fruit’s real allure.

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Humans have found the pomegranate appealing for thousands of years. In fact, pomegranates are one of the oldest edible fruits. They are mentioned in the Bible, the Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet. Archaeologists have found remains of them in ancient Egyptian tombs. Granada, Spain, is named after the fruit, and the word grenade derives from the French word for pomegranate. (Cut open one of these explosive fruits and you’ll understand the connection.)

Pomegranates grow on short trees that look more like bushes, which can live to be over 100 years old. The fruit are believed to be native to Persia, but have grown in many regions of the Middle East and the Mediterranean for thousands of years. They grow wild in Afghanistan, Armenia, Georgia and northern India, and are cultivated in many temperate climates around the globe. Today, there are hundreds of varieties of the fruit, including the sweet Balegal variety, which originated in San Diego. The most common variety in California is the “Wonderful.”

Pomegranate seeds make a wonderful addition to holiday meals -- even drinks. (Photo by Lauren Duffy)

The trickiest thing about pomegranates is that the juice stains-and the juice can burst from the arils quite easily.  Take care when seeding the fruit, as a rushed process will undoubtedly lead to a pink cutting board, apron, or worse. Many cultures treat the seeding of the pomegranate as a ritual-consider gathering a few friends or family to partake in this careful process.

Once removed from the fruit, the texture of the arils lends a surprising freshness to salads, rice dishes or vegetable medleys. Juiced, the fruit gives a complex flavor to drinks, dressings and sauces. The tangy flavor is also an excellent addition to meat and cheese plates-it pairs particularly well with creamy blue cheese, piquant green olives and rich cured meats. And then there is the traditional Persian fesenjan, a hearty, wintery dish of pomegranates, poultry and walnuts.

Don’t let this holiday season pass you by without trying the festive flavors of pomegranate. The fruit even makes a wonderful gift-especially if you take the time to seed it before gifting. Clean used glass jars, fill them with pomegranate arils, and tie with a festive bow. Upon receiving such a time-saving, flavorful gift, who wouldn’t be thrilled?

Look for: Pick fruit that are heavy for their size-this means the sacs are moist and full of juice. Avoid cracked fruit if possible; if cracked, fruit should be eaten right away. Ripe pomegranates will be slightly tender where the seeds hit the skin-this is a good indication the fruit is ready to eat.

Store it: Pomegranates keep well at room temperature and will keep even longer in the fridge. Consider keeping them on the counter or table during the holiday season, then refrigerating the uneaten fruit. The arils keep well after they are removed from the fruit, both in the refrigerator and the freezer.

Use it: Pomegranate seeds can be messy-and the juice will stain. To avoid both, remove arils using an underwater technique. Fill a large bowl with water. Cut a thin sliver off the top and bottom off the pomegranate to just barely expose inside. Run a knife from top to bottom, gently scoring the skin in about four places. Place the pomegranate underwater, then gently pull it apart. Gently push out seeds, letting them fall to the bottom of the bowl. The skin and white pith will float to the top. When finished, remove skin, drain water off of seeds, and rinse.

Whole pomegranates can serve a dual purpose as decoration during the holidays with their dark pink, hearty skin. (Photo by Lauren Duffy)

The Facts: Pomegranates are an excellent source of many nutrients. One half-cup serving of arils provides 3.5 grams of fiber, 15 percent of the daily value of vitamin C and 18 percent of the daily value of vitamin K. (Keep in mind, however, that the fiber comes from the seed, not the juice, so you won’t get the fiber from pomegranate juice.) Pomegranate seeds are also a good source of iron, potassium, manganese and copper.

Bonus Points: Pomegranates are an excellent source of antioxidants, which help remove damaging free radicals from the body. Eating antioxidants from whole foods may help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Lauren Duffy is an SDNN contributor.

Tags: arils, Balegal pomegranate, pomegranate, SDNN, Wonderful pomegranate

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