I need to explain how it came about that I had so many pomegranates at home I had to, or chose to, make a preserve.
I’m a pomegranate fiend. It is an addiction, obsession, guilty secret – call it whatever, I can eat pomegranates for England and any other country I might call home. But I belong to the shameful minority of spitters: eat the juicy arils and spit out the white pips. But shameful only because spitting is not a decorous activity; there are no proven values in eating the seeds which are mostly indigestible.
Due to the spitting technique eating pomegranates is more an activity than a meal: about 200kCal over two hours isn’t exactly fast food is it? And of course the fruit is a health supremo, with its Vitamin C and antioxidants content.
I’m fussy though. Not just any pom will do; over the years I’ve researched the varieties and the countries of origin to determine what is the best available in my neck of wood (hint: the cheapest and the skankiest looking OR the mega large and mega expensive). But still there are misses – like the time The Weather Man proudly brought a basket of poms bought in the local market for a pound.
They were not very good. And thus we finally get to the jelly stage in the story.
The one problem is releasing the seeds but there are videos galore; plus my explanation hopefully helps. The other problem is that we end up with potent stuff: less sugar and it won’t set; less cooking down and it will remain runny. So it needs to be used sparingly; rather than slathering over toast, I’d put on a thin dab. Scone and cream will be overwhelmed by the pom jelly – so the best company for it is a plain cracker, unsweetened oats and Greek yoghurt.
And it’s amazing drizzled over a plain rice cake spread with cream cheese.