pressing juice from Pomegranates
- Subject: pressing juice from Pomegranates
- From: S* O*
- Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 13:43:07 -0800
At 12:39 PM 2/6/2002, Robert wrote:
>Dear Sean,
>
>My name is Robert Patty, I live in Southern California. I have several
>pomegranate
>tree's and love the fruit from the tree. My question to you is, do you
>know were I
>can find a pomegranate press. On T.V. they have a program called The Travel
>Channel. On One of there show's they were visiting Turkey or Pakistan.
>That's were I saw a street vender with a pomegranate press for making juice.
>If you could help me out I would really appreciate it..
>
>Thank you,
>
>Robert Patty
Robert -
(I am also forwarding this correspondence to the medit-plants e-mail forum
in case others have some tips for you as well). I found a few bits of
information on the internet that might be useful to you.
There are some good tips on processes and method on the Fermentation
Pages's Pomegranate Melomel
(http://www.fermatorium.com/fermentation/mead/projects/pomegranateNov2001.html)
- I found it hard to cut and past anything specific but I would give it a
read (though that is difficult because of the obnoxious pomegranate seed
background!!!)
From the Calif. Rare Fruit Grower's web site
(http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pomegranate.html):
"Pomegranate fruits are most often consumed as juice and can be juiced is
several ways. The sacs can be removed and put through a basket press or the
juice can be extracted by reaming the halved fruits on an ordinary orange
juice squeezer. Another approach starts with warming the fruit slightly and
rolling it between the hands to soften the interior. A hole is then cut in
the stem end which is placed on a glass to let the juice run out, squeezing
the fruit from time to time to get all the juice. The juice can be used in
a variety of ways: as a fresh juice, to make jellies, sorbets or cold or
hot sauces as well as to flavor cakes, baked apples, etc. Pomegranate syrup
is sold commercially as grenadine. The juice can also be made into a wine."
From Asseer del Rumman Morocco (Pomegranate Juice) in the Arielle's Recipe
Archives/African (http://recipes.alastra.com/african/pomegranate-juice.html):
"Extract the juice from the pomegranates. There are two ways to do this.
The quickest is to cut the fruits in half and press them like oranges. This
can be a little messy, especially if you are using a domestic press where
you hold the fruit down by hand; some seeds will fall out which will have
to be pressed with your fingers. Also, the pressed juice may have a hint of
bitterness, from the acrid inside flesh. The other method, which will
produce more and finer juice, is to ease out the seeds which you then put
through a vegetable juicer, but you will need patience as it is
time-consuming."
From Praise for Pomegranates - HGTV
(http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,FOLI_project_19390,FF.html):
". . . one medium pomegranate (about 9 ounces) yields 1/2 cup juice. Some
use juice reamers to obtain the liquid from the ruby seeds; some like to
press the seeds, as in a potato ricer to juice the seeds. Whatever method
is chosen, remember that the juice stains clothing and countertops."
From Gunther Anderson's Homemade Pomegranate Liqueur Recipe
(http://gunther.simplenet.com/liqueurs/pomegran.htm):
"I knew that the secret lay in getting the juice out of the pods, but I
hadn't found a good, general method for that. . . Finally one summer, my
girlfriend brought me a present she found at a local yard sale. It's an
old, aluminum orange press. Basically, it's a round bowl with a hinged
pressing plate attached to a 12-inch lever arm. It's all made of thick,
sturdy aluminum, and withstands the rigors of pomegranate pods admirably.
Suddenly, and just in time for pomegranate season, we had a press
sufficient for our needs. Two dozen pomegranates later, we had jars and
jars of delicious pomegranate jelly, and a half a dozen jars of precious
pomegranate experiments."
I will keep my eyes open for anything more specific for pomegranates.
Thanks for your inquiry,
Seán O.
No. Calif. Branch of the Mediterranean Garden Society
Seán A. O'Hara - Branch co-chair
(510) 987-0577; fax (707) 667-1173; sean@support.net
710 Jean Street, Oakland, California 94610-1459, U.S.A.
http://www.MediterraneanGardenSociety.org/branches_CANo.html
