Pomegranate & other scented juices

Pomegranates are such a beautiful fruit to look at, but difficult to eat. The juice is high in antioxidants but it is also good to deglaze a roasting pan and give a certain sharpness to a rich sauce or jus. 

The easiest way to separate pomegranate seeds from the surrounding bitter white membrane is to cut the grenade in half, turn it upside down over a bowl and beat the mound with a wooden spoon. The seeds will fall into the bowl.

In Greece they're eaten like snacks in the hand together with fresh walnuts at the milky stage before they have dried - a wonderful combination.

Contemporary chefs have caught up with pomegranate juice, using a little of the sweet-sour liquid to deglaze a pan. It's been used by Middle Eastern cooks for centuries as a meat tenderizer and marinade for lamb. It is sold here in bottles in most Middle Eastern groceries.

A sprinkling of rose water, from Middle Eastern groceries, adds an intriguing scented flavor to a dish of strawberries, a fruit salad, home-made vanilla ice cream and sponge cake frosting.

So does orange water, available from the same source. 

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