Pomegranate Syrup unrelated to "The Locavore's Handbook"


Label for finished product


I just finished "Locavore’s Handbook:  The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget" by Leda Meredith.  The book describes her diet for an entire year subsisting only of food grown within a 250 mile radius of her home in New York City.  (It was educational as I have a mindset of the entire East Coast as a barren and endless cityscape...)

I'm an admitted "foodie" so quality of flavor alone make this concept worth considering, (the environmental impact is another discussion.) A rich variety of food is available within 250 miles of here thanks to the fertile soil of the Willamette Valley, the proximity to the Pacific Ocean and excellent rivers (like the Umpqua,) so sea food, river fish, the usual farm animals, a broad spectrum of vegetables, grains, and fruits including all the wonderful berries growing right in my yard.  And peaches! But no citrus?  How could I give up lemons and limes?  Or pomegranates?  You may have noticed I frequently mention pomegranates.  I found a variety that will grow here recently!

But back to Pomegranate Syrup:  I had two jumbos left - and a slew of other autumn fruits to eat, so I cleaned them and ended with four cups of pom seeds.

4 cups pom seeds
2 1/8 cups cane sugar

(Good ratio for blackberries too)

Place poms in a stainless or glass bowl.  Cover with sugar. Sugar will draw juices from the seeds (just like with blackberries).  Mine have been sitting covered with a plate on the counter for several days in the cool wintery kitchen.  I give it a stir a couple times daily.  The sugar at the bottom of the bowl is still gritty so I'll give it a couple more days, then strain.

I don't process and seal berry syrups because to me, it changes the flavor, so I bottle then store in the fridge.

I'm pleased with my label - a subdued PhotoShop brush-stroke filter.




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