Happy New Years Day 2017! We had a a fair harvest of pomegranates this past year. For the Christmas Eve dinner party, we opened the last of the fruit and tossed some into the salad.
What to do with the leftovers? The answer is Pomegranate syrup. The syrup is sweet and tart. Use the syrup for basting BBQ, flavoring dressings, and desserts. This recipe uses gifts from 3 of my favorite people: Pomegranates from my wife Marie; Honey from my brother Adam; and spices and recipes from my step-daughter Shauna.
While you wait for the syrup to reduce for 90 minutes, here is something from the seriouseats.com website:
In order to explain the origin of the seasons, the Greeks claimed that the goddess of springtime, the young and lovely Persephone, had eaten her way into an unhappy marriage contract. Before her husband Hades, god of the underworld, had let her leave to rejoin her mother Demeter, goddess of the harvest, back in the sunshine, he had insisted that she share a pomegranate with him. Thinking nothing of it and pining for the light and company of our world, Persephone munched down five seeds, and off she went. Not so fast, Hades thundered—or every seed you have eaten, you will have to spend one month with me, in the darkness. And so winter, when Persephone is gone, and her mother is mourning her absence, began.
Ingredients
1/2 cup honey or sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
For Molasses: Place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced to 1 cup, approximately 70 minutes. It should be the consistency of thick syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan for 30 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and allow to cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, 2006
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pomegranate-syrup-or-molasses-recipe.html?oc=linkback
