# Couscous pomegranate salad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207 "2010-10-06T02:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/1 "2010-10-06T02:52:31Z")
I have a potluck dinner coming up Friday. Based on what I have available and what I could get at the supermarket, I plan to do a couscous salad with pomegranate seeds. Anybody ever tried this before? Any pointers, tips, or suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/2 "2010-10-06T08:18:22Z")
My only tip with couscous salad is that if you’ve used too much water to cook the couscous, or you’ve introduced watery ingredients that over-soak the couscous, and the couscous clumps up too much into soggy clumps, you can fix this by sprinkling raw couscous over the salad and mixing them in. The raw grains will soak up any extra moisture without the need for any further cooking. This is provided you can let it sit for at least 1.5 hrs before serving. N.B. - I also made couscous salad for the last potluck I went to, but I’ve never used pomegranate seeds - sounds good though. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/3 "2010-10-06T08:42:06Z")
As above, don’t use too much liquid, and use a fork to fluff. I add in a little lemon juice and stock to the water to help season - pomegranate molasses is great too if you have some (but the lemon juice gives the astringency otherwise). You can through in a mix of sauted vegetables - carrots, eggplant, zucchini, herbs (coriander, mint, parsley) whatever, maybe some spices (cumin, coriander, cardamon) - and don’t forget the nuts - I like pistachios which would look great with the pomegranate. Split this open, and give it a rap to help get those little jewels out - and then work your way through it, peeling as you go, trying not to eat too many on the way. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/4 "2010-10-06T13:41:14Z")
Nice suggestions, **Girl From Mars**. I’ll add nuts and sauteed shredded carrots. And from **Isamu** ’s suggestion, I’ll use less water than normal, as the pomegranate seeds will add liquid. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/5 "2010-10-12T14:15:51Z")
Follow-up: The couscous salad came out well. I should have used more pomegranate seeds, though. The hard part proved to be getting the seeds into the salad, as my fiancee helped make the salad and pomegranate is her favorite food. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/6 "2010-10-12T16:29:51Z")
Sounds delicious, care to share the whole recipe? Best way to seed a pomegranate is to do it under a big bowl of water. Nothing flies anywhere, and the seeds fall to the bottom and the membranes float to the top. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/7 "2010-10-12T17:13:07Z")
2 cups couscous, prepared according to the directions on the package. 1 can chickpeas Shredded carrot, lightly sauteed Chopped walnuts, lightly sauteed 1 pomegranate, seeded Cumin and other spices to taste Mix well. Chill & serve. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/8 "2010-10-12T18:17:00Z")
I am so confused by pomegranates. As kids, we never ate the seeds. We’de spit them into a dish or our napkins after crushing out the juices. I don’t know if we were freaks or what, but that’s how we were taught and my parents were extensive world travelers who had also lived, twice, in Israel. So I assumed when they told us to spit the seeds it was how everyone did it. But clearly, this was incorrect, because there’s no way dinner guests were discretely dropping chewed up pomegranate seeds into their napkins… is there? Do people eat the seeds??? ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/9 "2010-10-12T18:20:59Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I am so confused by pomegranates. As kids, we never ate the seeds. We’de spit them into a dish or our napkins after crushing out the juices. I don’t know if we were freaks or what, but that’s how we were taught and my parents were extensive world travelers who had also lived, twice, in Israel. So I assumed when they told us to spit the seeds it was how everyone did it. > > But clearly, this was incorrect, because there’s no way dinner guests were discretely dropping chewed up pomegranate seeds into their napkins… is there? > > Do people eat the seeds??? Yep! In fact, they are sold as such, pre-packaged at Trader Joe’s. Yummy stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/10 "2010-10-12T18:33:55Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Do people eat the seeds??? The fruit was at the peak of ripeness. The seeds were OMOg delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/11 "2010-10-12T19:43:08Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > > [@Hello\_Again](#): > > > > Do people eat the seeds??? > > The fruit was at the peak of ripeness. The seeds were OMOg delicious. Ok, I think we’re still talking across each other. When I say the “Fruit” of the pomegranate I mean the small, jewel-tone nubbins packed within the white pithy chambers of the pomegranate What I call the “seed” of the pomegranate is the small white kernel left after all the juice is sucked out of the fruit and the skin scraped off with your teeth – in my experience it isn’t sweet at all, in fact its bitter. I am lead to believe that some people eat this seed, which, in childhood, I always discarded after consuming the fruit. Do they crunch them (ick, bitter) or swallow them whole? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/12 "2010-10-12T20:35:30Z")
Ah, now I understand. The nubbin is the seed, and it has the hard tip. I’ve learned to crush (not chew) the seed, as chewing causes the tip to get stuck in my teeth. Then the hard bits can be swallowed whole. The juicy bits (nubbin/seed) were, as I said, OMOg delicious. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/13 "2010-10-13T03:44:49Z")
I eat the whole nubbin, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Anna\_Nimity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Anna\_Nimity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anna_Nimity)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couscous-pomegranate-salad/556207/14 "2010-10-17T02:48:42Z")
Thanks to the OP for clueing me in to this. I had never heard of couscous pomegranate salad. It sounded so good, I made it today. I used a recipe I found for pomegranate and pistachio couscous salad, it was supposed to be made with chopped mint and parsley. I didn’t have any, so I used chopped cilantro. I also added shredded carrot, green onions, and dried cranberries. I made the pomegranate vinegarette dressing to go with it. This was unbelievably good! Also, I found out I can get all the free pomegranates I want, my ex sister- in- law has a pomegranate tree in her back yard and they don’t use many. This makes me wonder what else is out there that’s incredibly good, that I just haven’t heard about.