# Fresh pomegranates from the produce department **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 26, 2024, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158 "2024-12-26T00:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/21 "2024-12-27T21:19:20Z")
I’ve seen the [packaged arils](https://www.pomwonderful.com/products/pom-pomegranate-arils) in the supermarket or Costco. It’s a good way to acquire a small amount of them but expensive on a per-ounce basis. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/22 "2024-12-27T21:57:18Z")
And I’ve found some very dubious arils in those those pre-picked specimens too. Some fruits are worth the extra work, and poms are one of them ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/23 "2024-12-27T22:19:40Z")
My wife bought one on our last store visit. Remains to be seen if it ever gets eaten before it becomes compost. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/24 "2024-12-27T22:38:38Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > and poms are one of them Long ago, I was chatting with a friend via IM or other PC messaging app and I mentioned I was eating pom and how messy it is and I think I got some on the keyboard. He pointed out that pom sure looks a lot like porn and it’s the only way I see it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/25 "2024-12-27T23:04:34Z")
Pomegranates were plentiful and cheap when I lived in Egypt, so just for the heck of it I made grenadine one year and gave it away as Christmas presents. There was a certain satisfaction in being able to say I made grenadine from scratch, but I didn’t think the resulting syrup was anything special, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/26 "2024-12-28T06:04:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Remains to be seen if it ever gets eaten before it becomes compost. Recommendation for how to deal with a pomegranate that’s been sitting around because nobody has the energy to break it down: make Persian pomegranate juice, using the “ab-lamboo” method. You see this in Iranian street markets everywhere during the fruit’s high season. Basically, the method requires you to juice the pomegranate without breaking the skin, by compressing it, rolling it, compressing it again, etc., in order to rupture all the anils inside. Then you cut or poke a hole in the skin, insert a straw, and drink. This method does require a _little_ practice. Compressing the fruit feels a little bit like kneading dough, in that you press it down with the heel of your hand, spin and turn a quarter, press again, repeating until you stop hearing the little crunch-pops inside and the pom feels squishy. The trick is that you can’t press _too_ hard, because you don’t want to split the skin. Believe me, if you get close to the end and _then_ press too hard, cracking the skin, the spray of juice will make an unholy mess. But the good news is that the longer you work, the softer the fruit gets and the easier it is to compress without breaking it. Oh, and you have to be careful at the final step, as there’s almost invariably a little squirt of juice when you poke the hole for drinking. Alternatively, if you want to be _really_ Persian, you dispense with the straw, and you pick up the fruit and drink directly from the hole you poked or cut, vaguely like sipping coconut water out of a freshly-drilled coconut. Except that here, you can sort of squeeze or knead the increasingly soft fruit as you sip and suck, to milk out all the juice. Or, if you prefer, you can just tip up the fruit and squeeze the juice into a glass. Here’s a website that details the method. > **[Pomegranate Part II: Āblamboo Persian Style - Fig & Quince](https://figandquince.com/how-to-eat-pomegranate-ablamboo-persian-style-anar/)** > >   Last time, Felfeli and I showed you how to deseed a pomegranate in a simple Persian process of doon kardan that Read More Or if you’d prefer to watch a video: > **[Mana - Vegan Persian Recipes on Instagram: "The Persian (and best) way to...](https://www.instagram.com/theiranianvegan/reel/DCXicpFKJxb/)** > > 178K likes, 1,587 comments - theiranianvegan on November 14, 2024: "The Persian (and best) way to drink pomegranate!! 🍎🍎 > > This method is called AB LAMBOO!! > > My dad used to make me and my sister ab lamboo in the winter time. We would all sit together... Highly recommended to try this at least once. It’s somewhat wasteful in that there’s always some fruity goodness that stays inside the rind, so you don’t want to treat all your poms this way. But it’s a lovely, refreshing treat. My kids always get excited when my wife brings home a couple of poms and says, “time for ab-lamboo!” Edit to add: “ab-lamboo” is kind of slangy Persian that’s difficult to translate directly, but in Farsi it does literally refer to “juicing by squeezing inside the rind.” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/27 "2024-12-29T15:31:16Z")
When my kids were little I would put them naked in the tub and break open a pomegranate for them to eat and then hose them down when they were done. They both loved Pom Bath Time. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/28 "2024-12-29T15:38:32Z")
That’s hilarious. I remember when my brother’s kids were little and they wanted one of those chocolate-covered ice cream bars. He would sit them on a towel and not let them move from there until they were done, just to minimize the mess. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/29 "2024-12-31T18:36:15Z")
I “processed” a pomegranate a week ago. My system: score the rind to create future quarter sections. Start pulling apart. The trick is to invert each section so that the seeds are sticking out. Rub them into the bowl. Takes a fraction of the time compared to when I was younger and didn’t understand the principles. I had several handfuls of seeds this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2025, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/30 "2025-01-17T05:15:14Z")
I was offered a few cups of pomegranate arils today by someone who didn’t want them. They are disappointing. It has been an unknown number of years since I bought a pomegranate, but I’m sure it had more flavor than these. [https://giantfood.com/product/pom-wonderful-pomegranate-arils-4-oz-cup/270287](https://giantfood.com/product/pom-wonderful-pomegranate-arils-4-oz-cup/270287) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/31 "2025-01-17T19:34:44Z")
The pom arils I’ve had this year have been most excellent and tasty and flavorful. But I have had disappointing ones in the past. Costco’s poms were quite good this season, but they’re not carrying them anymore in the stores near me. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/32 "2025-02-08T07:56:14Z")
I was watching a rerun of _Bewitched_ tonight and Samantha was checking items off her grocery list. One was “four diced pomegranates”. It made me wonder if the writer knew what a pomegranate _is_. “Dicing” just doesn’t make sense for them. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/33 "2025-02-08T14:45:20Z")
I love them… My mom would take the handle of a knife and hit the pomegranates (after splitting them open) and then force us to eat them outside so we couldn’t stain anything in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158/34 "2025-02-08T14:51:59Z")
I’m experimenting with growing pomegranate outdoors in Kentucky with the cultivar [Red Russian](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2739303/), said to be hardy to zone 6. I’ll worry about fruit processing when/if we reach that stage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-pomegranates-from-the-produce-department/1012158.md?page=1)