Dear friends & family, today I will be talking about the pomegranate tree and its produce, how it was introduced to our culture, how we benefited from it, and what you can make out of this rich fruit.

The pomegranate tree has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region. It is an attractive small tree and usually long lives requiring minimal care. You can find  at least one of each kind of it in most of the old gardens: loufani, sweet, and tangy. When in blossoming season, the tree looks beautiful with its ravishing flower, bright red in color. Throughout the ages, the pomegranate was acossiated with a variety of symbols, from motherhood to fertility, love and prosperity. Many cultures crafted structures of it whether in paintings or in murals. Some believe that it brings good luck. Pomegranate embraces the sweet taste, plentiful juice, and its health benefits are compared to none.

The Molasses – always make sure to use organic, tangy, and loufani pomegranate to make molasses.

In Lebanon, it is traditional to harvest the pomegranate around mid September. I personally do mine on the 14th of the month because it became a tradition for me to do it on that day. September 14 is “feast of the cross”, where people burn ashes & wood collected from the summer fields, and set them on fire. All the dry branches that I collect, I use for cooking the syrup. It is a whole day procedure, and I end up using all the wood cuttings collected. I do this process outdoors and the minute my neighbors smell the burning wood, they all gather around and keep me company. It is actually a yearly event that we look forward to.

1- Pick the fruit and wash them well.

2- Prepare enough outdoor wood as it takes a whole day of boiling, you dont want to run out. Sitting around it makes it easier to do the job, and the smell of burnt wood adds to the flavor. (this can also be done in your kitchen in case you do not have access to an outdoor area)

3- Cut the fruit by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, score each half of the exterior rind 4 to 6 times. Bang the fruit against its tip, as it is the easiest way to bring out the wanted seeds, using a large wooden spoon. Pick up all the white pulp, because it causes the juice to be bitter.

4- Grind the seeds with a grinder, to extract as much juice as possible.

See video below for live method:

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5- I use a copper pot,that I have inherited from my in-laws, as it is healthier to cook in cooper. I use this pot every year.

Method

1- Start the fire.

2- once you have enough juice, start the boiling process.

3- There are two methods to stop the overflow of the juice as it boils. Be careful because overflowing can spoil all the effort we have put so far.

• Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pot
• Keep a wooden spoon in the pot

I usually do both to stay on the safe side. In addition, I keep part of the cold pressed juice at hand on the side, in case the boiling gets to a point where I cannot control the overflow, I add an amount of the cold juice as it tempers the process, and I carry on.

4- Scrape out the foam that appears on the surface.

5- Add a little sea salt (optional)

6- When it gets to the right consistency, take it off the fire, let it cool completely, and pour into clean glass bottles.

I am sure at this point it would have been already dark !

It is really worth it to find a good source where you can buy molasses, but I encourage you to follow my method that is easily done in your kitchen. (Jahn’s molasses will be available in the market soon)

Molasses plays a significant role in our cooking, as it is a substitute for balsamic vinegar.

What can you do with pomegranate:

1- Molasses, can someone enjoy eating the following without it?

• Fattoush
• Fattit Batenjen – eggplant dip
• Vegetarian okra
• Chicken liver
• Sausages
• Meat pie

and the list is endless…

2- A bowl of pomegranate mixed with nuts and rose water

3- Pomegranate Juice is a very popular beverage (cut the fruit in half and squeeze it the same way you squeeze an orange)

4- The tangy seeds are good to add to salads and spread over Mutabbal (eggplant dip)

Both the rind and the flowers are used for textile dyes. Most carpets are colored naturally this way.

Medically, it is wisely used and has many benefits. I have recently learned that drying the  pulp and grinding it into powder can cure:

• Throat inflammation
• Bronchitis
• Diarrhea

I kept some of the pulp to dry for this year, and will let you know in my future posts how to make it into the powder.

*Essential tip:

Salad dressing marinade recipe:

• Olive oil
• Molasses
• Mixed herbs
• Salt and pepper

The desert of this season:

• Soak the seeds of sweet pomegranate in a bowl filled with rose water and orange blossom water
• Prepare soaked walnuts, almonds, and pine seeds in advance, overnight
• Add all the above ingredients together, mix and serve

Grandma’s old remedy tip: As children, it was grandma’s remedy for our mouth ulcers, to swab a bit of molasses all over our mouth. A few days and the ulcer was cured !!

I hope you all enjoyed this extended tip on pomegranate and what you can do with this special fruit.

With love, Jahna