The makers of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice have made an interesting marketing decision. They are positioning and advertising pomegranate juice as a health food. Most of what I see and hear about it is the medical research showing how good it is for your heart, prostate and erectile function. Yes, they’re very proud that drinking it seems to improve erectile function.
Not that there’s anything wrong with improved erectile function, but it’s surprising that they don’t talk much about one of the other benefits: It tastes good. Maybe they’re right that people choose their fruit juices based on what makes the willie work. If that’s you, go ahead and check out all the health information on the POM Wonderful site. If you’re just interested in a distinctive salad dressing that’s great on spinach, read on.
(Full disclosure: POM Wonderful sent me a couple of bottles of juice to try. They hoped I would publish a review, which I’m starting today, but they have no editorial control over what I write.)
Ingredients
4 ounces POM Wonderful pomegranate juice (see below)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
juice of 1/4 small lemon (1-2 tablespoons)
Salad
Fresh spinach
walnuts
Montchevre (or feta) crumbled goat cheese
Red onion
Directions
First a note on calling for a brand name ingredient. Normally I don’t do that, but according to the POM Wonderful site:
According to recent tests conducted by three independent labs, nine out of ten so-called “pomegranate juices” had added sugars, colors and low-grade fruit juices.
I already try to get local food as much as possible. Today, that frequently means it’s from California rather than imported from overseas. POM Wonderful is the only one I’ve seen that’s not imported. If you find another brand that you like, feel free to substitute.
If you’ve never had pomegranate juice, it has a fruity flavor but is not very sweet, almost like a dry wine. Make sure you shake it well or the last sip from the bottle will bring some mighty pucker power. My wife and I agree that it’s a little too tart to drink on its own. My father-in-law, who is more of a wine drinker, liked it straight.
So on to the dressing. In a small pan, combine the pomegranate juice and lemon juice.
Add the raspberries and crush with a fork. Don’t crush them first. With such a small amount you’d lose half the juice and have one more bowl to clean.
Cook over medium heat until reduced enough to be a little syrupy. It should stick to the back of a spoon. Then move the pan to an ice bath to cool. Just fill a bowl with ice and set the pan in it. (Obviously I forgot to take the picture until the ice had already melted.)
While that cools, clean and dry the spinach, or use a bag of ready-to-eat. Chop the walnuts and dice the onion. Assemble the salads. (I’m not listing amounts here, because I don’t know how much you like walnuts or how hot your onions are.)
Pour the cooled dressing over the salad, and add a handful of the cheese. Montchevre, by the way, is a goat cheese somewhat like Feta. It’s a bit softer and milder tasting.
If you do the cheese first, it will soak up lots of the dressing. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it looks nicer doing the cheese last.
And that’s it.
Coming soon: A few more ways to use pomegranate juice.
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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20 Comments
That looks good, I bet it would go well with chicken. Do you think it would work as a marinade?
Bob, that’s one of the ideas I plan on trying. The thing I’m worried about is that it will turn the chicken purple. That could be very interesting in a fancy-food kind of way, but could also be very unappetizing. Only one way to find out.
That looks really good! I’ll have to give it a try. I’ve seen the POM marketing push at the supermarket, but I have to say I’ve never had a pomegranate and didn’t know what to do with them. Believe me, MY grandma never cooked with poms
That’s great that you let everyone know they sent you the samples to try, but you can say what you like. I think that’s a fair way to do it.
I love spinach salads with berry dressings…so delicious! It is difficult to find juices without added sugar (etc.) that actually tastes good. I wonder if POM would send me a sample? : )
Nice to see pomegranate juice make an appearance on the blog Drew. Over the past couple of years I’ve been making the effort to drink more of it. I’ve also found the taste a little too “intense” to enjoy on its own. It’s not that it isn’t good, it is. It is just so different than what one is normally exposed to. It takes a while develop a taste for it, I suppose. Adding a few pomegranate-focused recipes to my cooking repertoire sounds like a nice alternative to simply pouring 4-5 ounces of it in a juice glass and convincing myself to down it for the “greater good.”
Stef, I’ll bet mine never cooked with it either. I don’t think I ever saw a pomegranate until I was in my 30s.
Laura, you could always ask them.
Terry, I’ve got a few more coming up. At least one you should like.
Drew,
The best way to use pomegranate juice is in a pomegranate “martini”. Fill a large glass (like an iced tea glass) with ice. Pour in 2 oz. vodka, 1 oz. triple sec, squeeze a lemon wedge into the glass (then throw the lemon wedge in), fill the glass with pomegranate juice and stir. It’s absolutely YUMMY!
Hey! That was supposed to be a surprise. Now I have to go and make up a new drink.
My grand ma was the one who introduced me to pomegranates (full disclosure-she grew up and lived her whole life in California’s San Joaquin Valley). When they were in season, in the fall, she would put the seeds (arils, actually) into salads and Jell-o molds. Then she would give me a whole one and instruct me to only eat it over the sink. When POM came out with the juice, I was in heaven. I’ve used it as the liquid in cranberry sauce, as well as drink it straight. I have never found it to be too strong, but then I’ve been eating them for years.
Know what’s even healthier than pomegranate juice? Mulberry juice. For real. Though the odds of that appearing on grocery store shelves anytime soon is pretty much zero.
Stephanie, did you know, growing up, which things you were eating were not common in the rest of the country? Like, we all ate iceberg lettuce from California, but we didn’t have pomegranates. How aware were you that your diet was relatively unusual?
Kristin, you realize if you keep drinking that stuff, and you live forever, that just means more potato planting … and harvesting … and peeling …
Drew, You mean not everyone had a family farm to go to in the summer. Where besides the walnuts, almonds and grapes that were grown for the local nut & wine industries (Blue Diamond & Gallo Wine), they also had a personal orchard with nectarines, peaches, and figs. Persimmons, too. I never thought of that as unusual. I also thought it was normal to have lumpia & pancit (Filipino eggrolls & lo mein) for school lunches. Yeah, nothing strange in that.
Aww, now you’re just bragging.
Yeah, just a bit.
I also miss being able to get all that fruit. When I drove up there in September (long convoluted story) I visited my great-aunt who still lives on the family ranch (she just turned 91!) and ended up with bags of grapes and peaches. Grocery stores have nothing on that produce.
Sorry Drew. I didn’t mean to spoil your surprise. I’ve been eating pomegranates for 40 years. I didn’t know how to get the seeds out easily until this year, but it didn’t keep me from eating them. Pomegranates are labor-intensive, but well worth the effort.
Michelle, there’s an easy way? You’ve got to share that. If you don’t have a blog to post it on I’d be happy to show it here. Just take some pictures and write up the explanation and email it to me.
Drew, here’s the link to a video showing how to de-seed a pomegranate.
http://video.about.com/gourmetfood/Pomegranate.htm
Oh that’s awesome! Thanks so much.
I'm glad to see some vegetables. I was beginning to think there was only meat and things fried in meat and desserts. Not that I have anything against those things. I love some fries cooked in bacon grease and double fudge brownies, but I also really like veggies. More veggie recipes!
I have been sort of lax on the veg, haven't I? Actually most of what I've been eating during the summer is fresh and raw from the garden, so really not that much to show. I'll make up for it this fall.