I’ve just scored two grocery bags full of pomegranates from my cousin. Does anyone have any advice for juicing them? I want to try to make some jelly. I’ve already juiced about a third of them, and it’s been a real pain in the ass. I bought a Cuisinart citrus juicer and basically cut the pomegranates in half and juiced them like an orange. It kind of worked, but a lot of the kernels (what do you call them anyway?) were left in the rind and I had to remove them by hand. I tossed these remainders into a Ziploc bag and hand smooshed them.
My hands turned out looking like I had a bad case of jaundice combined with frostbite (yellow and black), plus a layer of sliminess. This has diminished after about 36 hours. The Cuisinart is already starting to make funny noises like it is getting ready to break (it sounds like a transmission on its last legs). Does anyone hace recommendations for making this task easier and more efficient? Thanks.
Get a large wire mesh strainer, put the pips into it, and juice by pressing/rubbing the pips into the mesh with the back of a large spoon. Occasionally tap the skin/seeds into the garbage when you get too many in the strainer. I did this to make pomegranate jelly - it’s still a royal pain in the ass but seems to be the best method I’ve found.
Oh yeah - you can separate the pips from the white “skin” inside - without getting your hands too red - by breaking the pomegranate into chunks and placing them in a big bowl of water. Break apart the clusters of pips from the interior of the rind and toss them into another bowl.
Hm, we always use a sort of squasher thing, like an industrial-size garlic press. It’s fast and effective, but also the sort of thing you only buy if you do a lot of canning.
Hey, here’s something like it A food mill. Only ours is entirely made of metal.
If I were you, I wouldn’t juice them. Instead, try putting a bunch of them in a bowl with some salt and ground cumin and eat them. It’s really good.
Sounds weird. I’ll have to try it.
I ended up just juicing them with the Cuisnart. The juice is a bit bitter, maybe next time I’ll try the water method. I ended up with almost a gallon of juice. Thanks for the help.
In the future, I think theMehu-Liisa would be easiest and most efficient.
I’ve used (IIRC, it’s been a few years) cheesecloth. Make a sack of seeds in the cheesecloth, and squeeze and squash.
Never successfully made jelly - I think we didn’t use enough pectin. But the pomegranate syrup that was left was world-class on pancakes…
Joe
I’ve made a lot of both jelly and mead from pomegranates and I found a combo of citrus juicer and muslin to be the best method. Use the juicer to get the pips and juice out of the outer rind, then put the mush into muslin and wring the hell out of it. Works a treat and the juice gets nice and clear.
I don’t use commercial pectin, but some sour apple peels added to the juice and sugar during the cooking will set it right up.
I’ve used the method described by SmartAleq, although I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better way. There was a lot of bitter pith in the mix before the wringing process and my hands had a good purple glow to them.
I believe I used quinces for the pectin. Both pomegrantes and qunices appear in the stores about the same time in my area.
Very nice jelly in the end, well worth the effort. This is one I don’t give away.
Well, I thought I’d report back on the pomegranate jelly. It turned out surprisingly great. I just used the online Sure-Gel recipe and it came out clear, tasty and a perfect jelly consistency. Although the juice was a tad bitter, there is no trace of bitterness in the jelly (probably due to the boatload of sugar).
I’m thinking that the way to go is to use a manual lever operated citrus squeezer, and not worry about the efficiency. I think I’ll try to pick up a cheap sturdy one the next time I’m in Mexico. You could crank through 25 pounds of pomegranates in no time at all, plus use it to make orange or grapefruit juice. It would also be useful to make my favorite college death swill, Yucca flats (Tequila, sugar, ice and citrus fruits).
I’m going to try to make some jello shots out of the remaining juice. FYI, the kernels are called arils.