Not everything about Iran is controversial. Pomegranates were first cultivated there and their use has spread across the world. Pomegranates are one of those how-did-they-figure-it-out foods. I guess someone was pretty hungry to fight one open, then finally figure out the seeds were the only sustenance. I think it’s probably a good diet food. It seems you consume more calories digging out those seeds than you get from eating them.
Pomegranate juice, obtained from the seeds, is a peculiar mix of sweet and sour tastes. There are over 500 varieties of pomegranates so many different juice flavors exist. The most commonly used pomegranate species now offer juice with a moderately balanced flavor. When you taste the juice, you may sense something familiar in your mouth. It is tannins, just as in red wine, and your mouth will react in the same way to that juice as to wine. No alcohol, of course, so your brain is safe.
If you think you have not tasted pomegranate juice, you may be wrong. The POM brands are now widely distributed, popular and used in cooking for sauces and dressings.
More likely you have had deep red grenadine syrup in some sweet cocktail. Grenadine syrup is supposed to be thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice. I just looked at my bottle of grenadine, from a prominent manufacturer, and the first ingredient is corn syrup, followed by citric acid. In a taste test, real pomegranate juice has that a unique mix of sweet, sour, and tannin. The grenadine syrup, straight out of the bottle, is like cough syrup. Never again.
For this quick cocktail, get some real pomegranate juice and enjoy this bright cocktail with its red color and bite on your tongue.
Pomegranate Martini
Ingredients
2 ounces Grey Goose vodka
1 ounce triple sec [or other orange liquor]
2 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
5 pomegranate seeds for garnish
Preparation
Pour the vodka, triple sec, pomegranate juice, and lime juice in a shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake 10 to 12 times sand strain into a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with the pomegranate seeds and serve.
Source: The Barcelona Cookbook by Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforzheimer