Pomegranate arils blended briefly with water and sugar and put through a sieve. The whole technique is in the word briefly.
Thirty seconds, and not a second more
Each pomegranate aril is a bead of juice wrapped around a hard seed. A short blend bursts the juicy part and leaves most of the seeds intact for the sieve to catch.
Blend for two minutes and those seeds are ground into the juice. The result is gritty and noticeably bitter, and straining afterwards does not remove the bitterness because it has already dissolved into the liquid.
This is the single thing that decides whether the juice is good.
Getting the arils out
Halve the fruit crossways, hold one half cut side down over a bowl, and hit the skin firmly with a wooden spoon. The arils drop out in a few seconds.
Doing it under water is the other method: the arils sink and the white pith floats, so you can skim it off. The pith is bitter and none of it should get into the blender.
It stains permanently
Pomegranate juice on cotton is not coming out. It is worth an apron, and worth doing the aril extraction over a deep bowl rather than a shallow plate.
Strain, always
The original recipe went from blending straight to serving. Even with a short blend there will be seed fragments and pieces of membrane in the jug, and the difference between strained and unstrained pomegranate juice is considerable.
More juices
- Blackberry juice — the Colombian mora.
- Beet juice — also raw and blended.
- Apple juice — blended and strained.
- Colombian fruit — what to buy frozen.
Pomegranate Juice FAQ
You blended it too long. Each aril has a hard seed inside, and grinding those seeds releases bitter compounds into the juice. Thirty seconds is enough to burst the juicy part and leave the seeds whole. Straining afterwards will not remove bitterness that has already dissolved.
Halve the fruit crossways, hold one half cut side down over a bowl and hit the skin firmly with a wooden spoon. They fall out in seconds. Doing it in a bowl of water also works: the arils sink and the pith floats.
Yes. Even with a short blend there are seed fragments and pieces of membrane in the jug, and the white pith is bitter. The recipe originally went straight from blending to serving, which is a mistake.
Permanently, on most fabrics. Wear an apron and work over a deep bowl rather than a shallow plate.
Roughly two glasses, depending on the size of the fruit and how much water you add. Pomegranates vary a great deal, and a large one yields nearly twice a small one.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pomegranates (the arils, seeds and all)
- Sugar, to taste
- Water (as needed)
- Ice cubes
Notas
Instructions
- Cut each pomegranate in half and get the arils out, putting them straight into the blender.
- Add the sugar and the water and blend for about 30 seconds, no longer.
- Strain the juice to take out the crushed seeds, then serve over ice.
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