Food & Drink

Pomegranate passion

It's healthy, it's versatile, it's brilliantly colorful and it's the current darling of the fruit family

By Jenn Abelson
THE BOSTON GLOBE
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Supermarkets can't keep pomegranate juices in stock. Farmers can't grow the fruits fast enough. They are everywhere — in shampoo, on lobster dinners, in beer and even in a spicy sauce from Fredericksburg.

Hard-to-eat, and until recently fairly obscure, pomegranates have become a national phenomenon. Companies rolled out 450 products in 2006 featuring the ruby-seeded fruit, bringing the total to 961 products launched since 2003, according to the Mintel International Group, a market research firm.

One of those products was Fischer & Wieser's Pomegranate & Mango Chipotle Sauce, introduced at the Fancy Food Show in New York City last July. "The healthy foods craze and the prominence of pomegranate products which were skyrocketing in the mainstream was our motivation," said Case Fischer, president and CEO of Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods.

The sauce, which works well on chicken, fish and pork, features pomegranates as the No. 2 ingredient. In less than a year, the sauce has landed a spot as one of the Fredericksburg company's top five selling sauces nationwide, Fischer added.

In Austin, Spiceburst Gourmet Spices has also capitalized on the fruit's flavor in its Savory Pomegranate Glaze, rubbed on ham, ribs, even sweet potatoes.

It's an unexpected surge in popularity for a fruit that has its roots in ancient Persia and took nearly 4,000 years to make its way into mainstream America, with its arrival epitomized this summer by the introduction of a pomegranate Frappuccino at Starbucks. Rival Dunkin' Donuts wanted to launch a pomegranate smoothie this year, but the Canton chain feared the fruit's short supply would be a problem.

"The pomegranate really did come out of nowhere," said Tom Vierhile, director of Productscan Online, a market research group in Naples, Fla. '"Clearly, pomegranate has staked a claim in the market as the top superfruit of the year."

Americans' interest in pomegranates was spurred first by health studies in 2002 promoting the fruit as rich in antioxidants, a class of compounds thought to help prevent cancer and strokes. At the same time, Pom Wonderful, a Los Angeles company that helped fund the studies, introduced stylishly bottled pomegranate juice in supermarkets.

The studies gave the fruit instant currency among health-conscious Americans, especially aging baby boomers, and boosted the awareness of the fruit. Marketers quickly crowned the pomegranate as the latest in a new line of nutrient-dense "super foods," following cranberries, blueberries and green tea, among others.

But the pomegranate's appeal has spread far beyond the bounds of other health foods. Savvy companies played up the fruit's history; it was revered for centuries as a symbol of fertility, royalty, hope and abundance in various cultures. Some scholars even suggest that it was a pomegranate, not an apple, eaten in the biblical Garden of Eden.

"Ancient Egyptians put them in their tombs, and according to Greek mythology, pomegranates were believed to symbolize fertility because of their many seeds," Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, director of botanical studies at University of Arizona's School of Medicine, said in press materials distributed by Odwalla this year when it launched its PomaGrand brand in three juice varieties.

The pomegranate's lack of history in America also gave companies the freedom to create unusual concoctions.

"There's only so much you can do with tomatoes and the reality of what you can market," said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a consulting firm in New York. "Tomato-flavored vodka may work for brunch, but there's not a heck lot more where you can take it. But people are willing to experiment with pomegranates; there's no entrenched views of how it should and shouldn't be marketed."

Making the pomegranate more accessible proved to be key to whetting the American appetite. Eating fresh pomegranates is labor-intensive because you must cut through a leathery skin and bitter membrane to reach the hundreds of seeds that make up the fruit.

For Michael S. Moxley, owner of Common Ground Bar & Grill in the Allston area of Boston, pomegranate juice allowed him to offer a whole new line of drinks. Moxley's bar started carrying the juice this year after he received an increasing number of requests.

"I've never seen anything grab on like that, especially when so many people never even heard of it," said Moxley who serves up pomegranate margaritas and other cocktails.

Pom Wonderful, which hired a mixologist to create a pomegranate martini to help generate sales at bars, has expanded its farms over the last few years from several thousand acres of pomegranate trees in California to more than 12,000 acres. And that's still not enough.

Last year, Pom Wonderful stopped supplying pomegranate concentrate to an ice cream company and a salad dressing maker because it needed all the fruit for its own products, including a POM tea launched this year, according to Fiona Posell, a company spokeswoman.

The pomegranate push is certainly paying off: Annual sales of Pom Wonderful's juice jumped to $80 million over the past year from $13 million in 2003, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago market research firm.

"We haven't been able to meet the demand of retailers anywhere," Posell said.

California grows 98 percent of America's pomegranates on 15,000 acres. The harvest totals about two million 24-pound boxes at $30 each.

Dave Wilson Nursery, one of California's largest growers of fruit trees, sold about 20,000 pomegranate trees this year — about a 300 percent increase from 2002 — and already has orders through 2008, said Ed Laivo, the nursery's home garden sales and marketing director. To capitalize on the demand, the company this year introduced five new varieties of pomegranate trees, with such catchy names as Pink Satin, Red Silk, Kashmir Blend and Garnet Sash.

"The sky is the limit for this fruit. I've never seen such a cultural awareness and desire like this," Laivo said. "I'm not sure where it will stop."

Some market researchers predict that pomegranates will continue to be on the radar but will taper off in popularity with the discovery of the next superfood. One candidate: acai, a dark purple berry grown in the Amazon rainforest that apparently is loaded with antioxidants.

Many reasons this fruit is a super food — not just antioxidants

One reason for pomegranates' current popularity: their health benefits. Among them: Their antioxidant properties fight disease. They lower bad cholesterol. Their potassium content (almost as high as in orange juice, but not a source of vitamin C) keeps our bodies ticking along properly. They're a good source of fiber. They're thought to be beneficial in fighting prostate cancer. Be warned, though: One cup of pomegranate juice has 140 to 160 calories (similar to cranberry juice and more than in orange or grapefruit juice). - St. Petersburg Times and American Institute for Cancer Research

You bought a pomegranate; now how on Earth do you peel it?

Cut off the top and bottom of the pomegranate. Score the skin in three or four places as you would an orange. Place the fruit in a bowl of water and use your fingers to gently pull out the bright red, juicy seed sacs, called arils. Pull away and discard the bitter pith and rind. Drain the water and keep the seeds. For recipes, visit pomegranates.com, the Web site of the Pomegranate Council; pomwonderful.com; or about.com; click on 'food and drink' and type 'pomegranate' in the search box. Pomegranate juice will stain, so wear an apron.- Judy Stark, St. Petersburg Times

RECIPES

Pomegranate sauce for tamales
3 ripe pomegranates
1/3 cup sugar

Halve pomegranates and squeeze seeds and liquid into a saucepan. Add sugar and heat over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve with tamales. — Maria J. Ávila, San Jose Mercury-News

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Pomegranate rice
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups broken jasmine rice or long-grain white rice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
One 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup pistachios
Seeds from 2 pomegranates

Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over very low heat. Add 1/2 cup of the rice, stirring to coat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is a nut-brown color. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, ginger, cinnamon and the remaining 1 1/2 cups rice; sauté, stirring frequently, until the rice is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 14 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Mix together the rices in a bowl, and fold in the pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Remove the bay leaf. Serve immediately or at room temperature. Serves 6.- 'The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa,' by Marcus Samuelsson

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Guacamole with Pomegranate
1/3 cup white onions, finely chopped
2 serrano chiles, finely chopped, with seeds
1 tsp. coarse salt
4 large ripe avocados
4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
4 Tbsp. cilantro

In a food processor, grind onion, chiles, and salt and cilantro a coarse paste. Add paste to peeled, cored and chopped avocado. Mash with fork to desired consistency. Stir in the lemon juice and fold in the pomegranate seeds.- pomegranateworld.com

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Easy Pomegranate Chicken
2 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. chili powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, ground into a paste
1 cup pomegranate juice
Cilantro or mint for garnish
1 tsp. of lemon zest or orange zest for added flavor, if desired

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Brown chicken and transfer to a plate. Add spices and onion to skillet, and sauté until soft. Return chicken to the pan and add pomegranate juice and nut paste. Stir mixture to thoroughly coat the chicken. Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced.

Finish with a bit of lemon or orange zest and garnish with cilantro or mint.

Serve with a side of couscous or lentils. Serves 4. — pomegranateworld.com

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Pomegranate Pistachio Couscous
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup couscous
2 Tbsp. chopped mint or cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. olive oil

To boiling water add cinnamon, olive oil and salt. Stir in the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Mix in the herb, pistachios, half of the pomegranate seeds and lemon zest.

To make a balanced lunch or light summer dinner, add in chunks of cooked chicken, lamb or garbanzo beans. — pomegranateworld.com