It's Great Straight! (Or -- With Vodka)

Friday, December 17, 2010


Fresh Squeezed Pomegranate Lemonade
Ah yes -- time for another glass of Juice from the Gods...

Our newest -- and most favorite mixer I might add -- comes straight out of our own backyard -- with an assist from from Roseville Gardener/Blogger Greg Damitz. After all -- it was his generous donations of lemons -- combined with our own modest production -- that make the magic happen.

That magic is located to your immediate right. It's a half gallon of lip-smacking Pomegranate Lemonade -- and let me tell you -- this is one FINE combined taste.

Bird Pomegranate Tree
But it does require a bit of work -- careful work at that. Let us not forget that pomegranates can be messy -- and we don't want any fresh stains in the kitchen of the wife that is Venus.

I've been reading up a bit on squeezing fresh juice out of pomegranates -- and much to my chagrin -- it appears that a normal juicer does too much of a good job. The idea is to get the juice out of the pomegranate seeds only - not the pith that surrounds them -- as that can be quite bitter.

Unfortunately -- the normal juicer not only gets the juice out of the seeds -- it also squeezes some of that bitter tasting juice out the pith.

Not a good thing.

Simple Juicer
The reccommended product then? A simple juicer like the one you see to your right. There are fancier varieties of course -- which carry a price tag far higher than the simple juicer than the one I used. But -- the bottom line is this: It doesn't matter which juicer is used. It still results in a bit of a mess if you're not careful.

You'd like for those streams of pomegranate juice to head straight down. But -- sometimes -- that doesn't always happen. And there's nothing quite like taking a squirt of pomegranate juice in the eyeball!

I learned -- through experience I might add -- by breaking the pomegranate into seven or eight chunks -- and placing the seed side down with the rind facing up -- you experience far less in the way of "mistakes."

This is the third year of production from the Sweet or Wonderful Pomegranate variety we have planted in the side yard (we're not really quite sure which variety we have). Last year our small tree churned out about 25 pieces of fruit. This year it was closer to 100. I wonder what next year will bring?

Pomegranate overload anyone?

The process of making Pomegranate Lemonade is fairly simple. Once you've finished squeezing the juice out of three pomegranates (and hopefully getting most of that juice into a bowl) -- your strain the finished product into a half -gallon container. I then fill said container with enough freshly squeezed Meyer Lemon juice to just below the one-quart mark.

Combine one cup of sugar (or less depending upon your likes) with the juice mixture -- stir vigorously for about two minutes -- and allow the mixture to sit until the sugar is fully disolved. At that point? Add enough water to make a half gallon (two quarts) of juice.

Improved Meyer Lemons
The next step is the absolute most difficult. Ignore the temptation to drink a half gallon of Pomegranate Lemonade on the spot -- and stick that wonderful concotion into your refrigerator.

It really best to serve it chilled -- if you can ignore the temptation...

Christmas Punch anyone???

7 comments:

Tracy said...

how come you don't just blend the pom seeds in a blender?

Bill Bird said...

I suppose you could -- but man that's a lot of work!!!

salmon rub said...

Thrilled to see this incredibly creative lemonade recipe. I never thought to combine Meyer lemons and pomegranates. I love Meyer lemons. If Cézanne had lived not in France but in Southern California, his still lifes would have overflowed with Meyer lemons. And yay, yay, yay. Meyer lemons are back in season. I just Googled "buy Meyer lemons" and there they were, ready to ship.
Elizabeth

Bill Bird said...

Dear Salmon Rub,

The best deals for Meyer Lemons are often found on Craigslist. Enter the search term "lemons" on Craigslist and you'll likely find someone -- in an older area of town -- who is selling them ten or 20 for a buck. The real crime here is people who have mature lemon trees often don't take advantage of them -- and a lot of that wonderful citrus goes to waste.

Jenn's Cooking Garden! said...

I love your poms! We didn't get many this year, but enough to do some alcoholic beverages :-) I have missed reading your blog posts. I am now back in action. I hope you and Venus had a wonderful holiday and happy new year!

Anonymous said...

Hey Bill,
when i ws a kid we had a hedgerow about 75 ft. of pomegranates, which we rarely ate(didn't know what we had) but the funny thing was on the blossom side of the pomegranate there was usually an earwig hiding in there...anybody have that? i thought it was kind of strange because i doubt that earwigs would eat on the pomegranate and it was quite a trip for the earwigs to get there...

Bill Bird said...

Interesting story about the earwigs. I have something somewhat similar -- but not nearly as fun. I discovered this very old -- and still very productive -- pomegranate tree while living deep in Southeast Fresno. The tree was in a private yard -- but draped over the fence leading to our small apartment complex. There were tons of pomegranates to choose from and each one was cracked at the bottom. Guess what was hiding in each and every one? A very large wolf spider -- who became very agitated when you cut the fruit open. Talk about sudden heart attacks...